Sparkling wine instead of champagne and trout instead of salmon: people in France save money before Christmas and the New Year. This is also due to inflation.
The French like to serve up a really good meal at Christmas and the New Year – but this year they are saving on champagne, smoked salmon and goose liver pâté. Inflation is to blame, broadcaster BFMTV reported, citing data from consumer research company NielsenIQ. Between October 30th and December 10th, sales of champagne fell by 20.1 percent and that of goose liver pate by 20.4 percent compared to the same period last year. The amount of smoked salmon sold was 10.8 percent lower than the previous year. Sales of Christmas chocolate fell by 9.1 percent.
Consumer researchers point to inflation, which remains particularly high for food, as the reason for the reluctance to buy fine foods and drinks. However, people in France will not be sitting in front of empty plates at Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinners. Instead, as stable or slightly higher sales volumes show, they turn to slightly cheaper substitute products. These include smoked trout, sparkling wine, liver sausage or regular chocolate. Retailers are now responding to consumers’ thriftiness by offering discounts on traditional Christmas products.
BFMTV report
Source: Stern
