LIDL has hailed record numbers of festive shoppers and a hike in sales.
The discounter posted a 2.6 per cent year-on-year rise in UK sales over the four weeks to December 26 - up 21% when compared with pre-pandemic levels two years earlier.
The group saw the highest ever number of shoppers visiting its UK stores in the week leading up to Christmas, with footfall up 14% on its busiest day on December 23.
It claimed to notch up £21 million of spending from customers switching away from other grocers and said recent Kantar market data showed it was the fastest growing "bricks and mortar" retailer over the festive quarter.
The Kantar figures revealed Lidl enjoyed sales growth of 14.8% on a two-year comparison over the 12 weeks to December 26, beaten only by online grocer Ocado.
Lidl said one of its Christmas jumpers was sold every two seconds on its first day of sale.
Christian Hartnagel, chief executive of Lidl in the UK, said: "Despite ongoing challenges with the pandemic, customers continued to find ways to celebrate this Christmas.
"As inflation continues to rise, I want to reassure each and every one of our customers that we remain resolute in our promise of being the destination for the lowest grocery prices in the market."
The figures follow Aldi's festive trading update, which showed a 0.4% rise year-on-year in December as it hailed its "best ever" Christmas.
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