M&S is most popular supermarket for your Christmas food shop 2022

Favourite food outlet for Britons at Christmas according to Google
By Joanne Savage
Published 1st Dec 2022, 11:20 BST
A succulent M&S turkey surrounded by pigs in blankets will be on the menu for many in Northern Ireland this ChristmasA succulent M&S turkey surrounded by pigs in blankets will be on the menu for many in Northern Ireland this Christmas
A succulent M&S turkey surrounded by pigs in blankets will be on the menu for many in Northern Ireland this Christmas

Research by New Casinos analysed Google search data to discover the most searched for supermarket in the UK for the Christmas food shop. 

M&S places first as the most searched-for supermarket when it comes to Christmas food with an average of 25,000 searches a month. The search term “M&S Christmas food” receives over double the queries of the second-placed supermarket. It has 90 dedicated Christmas items ready to order, including brand-new to 2022 products such as the ‘Lobster Mac & Cheese Crostini’, and the ‘Hot cheese grazing platter’. As of November 2022, M&S has sold out of 53% of the items and they also cater five items suitable for vegans.

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The second most popular supermarket in the UK for Christmas food is Waitrose (sadly not available here in Northern Ireland) with 10,000 monthly Google searches. Heston Blumenthal has three items for this year’s Christmas, Turkey Breast, Festive Peking Duck and an Espresso Martini Chocolate Torte. 

Sainsbury’s places third with 7,300 average monthly searches and also has a deadline for delivery orders, midnight on the 16th of December. Compared to last year, Sainsbury's has seen a 50% decrease in searches for their Christmas food.

Tesco was revealed as the fourth most popular, with the supermarket gaining 7,100 monthly Google searches for their Christmas range. The interest in Tesco has stayed steady since 2017.  

Aldi ranks as the fifth most searched for supermarket for this year’s Christmas food shop, with an average monthly search volume of 4,400.

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In sixth place is Morrisons who have an incredible 203 Christmas products to order. 22 products are listed as gluten-free, 14 cater to those having a vegan diet, and 64 items are for vegetarians. According to Ahrefs, the term ‘Morrison’s Christmas food’ receives 4,100 searches, on average per month.

Iceland comes in seventh with a roast bundle of one main and five sides for £28 and an average monthly search volume of 2,100: 22,900 fewer searches than supermarket competition Marks and Spencer.

Asda is in eighth place with an average monthly search volume of 1,900.

Lidl ranks as the ninth most popular supermarket for a Christmas food shop; it has seen a steady decrease in interest for its Christmas products since 2019.

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The research also analysed Google Trends to discover when the nation starts planning its Christmas feast, with the interest in ‘Christmas food shop’ typically starting to rise in September.  

Over the past five years, M&S has been the most popular Christmas food search on six occasions.

M&S’s most popular Colin the Caterpillar cake has been recreated ‘with his skates on’, for the Christmas shop. 

A spokesperson from New Casinos said: “Christmas can be an extremely exciting time, with many companies making a huge profit from this season. It is interesting to see which supermarkets are winning the race to be the most popular choice for Christmas food and that some are taking over other prominent shops.

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“With the rising cost-of-living challenges, Christmas is undoubtedly an expensive time of year. Many supermarkets are attempting to ease the burden with a range of price points and Christmas dinner deals. Asda have stated “Whatever your budget, there is a Christmas for everyone”.

Related topics:GoogleM&STescoWaitrose