While grocery sales in Scotland grew by 5% over the four weeks to 2 November 2025, chocolate and sugar sales dipped, with both recording lower shopper penetration, according to new data from Worldpanel by Numerator.
This reflects a similar trend seen across Great Britain, where biscuit bars have surged by 17.1%, perhaps taking the place of traditional Halloween chocolates, suggested the firm.
While neeps remain more popular than pumpkins at Halloween, with 1.2 times more households buying them, the American-style celebration is clearly gaining ground. Pumpkin sales jumped by 33% compared with last year, showing that Scots are embracing newer customs alongside their own.
However, festive staples such as mince pies, were off to a slow start this year, with spend down 16.9% and volume down 20.6% year on year.
Own label ranges continued to strengthen their position, with premium own-label lines up 6.9% in the past four weeks. This growth puts them on track to surpass £100m in sales in Scotland this Christmas, claimed the company. Branded products also performed strongly, up 4.9%, and expected to exceed £700m.
Promotions remain a key influence on spending, with promotional sales up 9.1% on the previous period and 21.1% higher than the same time last year. The average amount spent per buyer on deals has risen by 8.5%, showing that value continues to resonate with Scottish shoppers.
