During this year’s Christmas season, shopping baskets have become healthier - people have bought significantly more fish, mandarins, and other fruits and vegetables for their Christmas meals. Demand has also increased for Christmas cookies and a range of festive products, according to Maxima Latvija sales figures.
“During this year’s Christmas season, demand has risen significantly for our premium products such as salmon and caviar, whose sales grew by 75% and 46%, respectively, compared with last year. This increase is closely linked with overall growth in average income, with shoppers being prepared to spend more. An irreplaceable part of the Christmas holiday is still mandarins and Christmas cookies, whose sales this year increased by 47% and 38%. Likewise, we saw that demand for other fruits over the Christmas period grew by a quarter, with demand for vegetables also increasing,” comments Head of the Business Analytics Department at Maxima Latvija, Zane Kaktiņa.
At Christmas, the most popular fruits are traditionally citrus fruits, with mandarins being the most purchased item followed by pomelos and oranges. Meanwhile, dessert lovers purchased smaller cakes over Christmas, with the most popular being honey cake in a 350-gram serving, followed by the same sized Vienna chocolate cake. The third-most popular was the Meistara Marka chocolate cake with cottage cheese and nuts.
Meanwhile, the most popular meat products include both pork and poultry. The most demanded meat was fresh pork neck fillet, followed by fresh chicken and minced turkey meat. However, the two most popular cuts of roasting meat were marinated poultry, leaving pork roast in third place.
The most-purchased sweet products during the past few days were various chocolates suitable for gifts: chocolate Christmas Santas, boxes of Raffaello sweets, and chocolate Kinder Surprise eggs.
Consumers continued to purchase Christmas decorations until the very last moment. Compared with last year, Christmas shoppers bought almost twice as many plastic trees and two-thirds more sparklers, with demand for ornaments also increasing.
Information for the media:
Liene Dupate-Ugule
Head of Communications,
SIA "Maxima Latvija"
Tel: 26425420
email: liene.dupate@maxima.lv
www.maxima.lv