Covid 19 coronavirus: Countdown notches up almost $2 billion of quarterly sales

Countdown supermarkets lifted first-quarter sales by 13.7 per cent in the flurry of buying brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The New Zealand division of Woolworths Group today reported sales of $1.93 billion in the 13 weeks ended April 5, up from $1.69b in the same period a year earlier.

Prices were up 5.1 per cent, which the supermarket operator said was due to more expensive commodities such as dairy, flour, meat and fruit and vegetables, and about one percentage point was due to the temporary suspension of promotions to help manage supply in the face of unprecedented demand.

Supermarkets were deemed an essential service through New Zealand's national lockdown, and continued trading, albeit with safety restrictions imposed, such as limiting the number of customers allowed inside a store.

Woolworths said the New Zealand growth was driven by a more than 50 per cent increase in the week leading up to the lockdown, with trade on some days more than double that a year earlier.

"Growth rates have moderated from peak levels. However, they have been higher than Australia given the more limited number of shopping alternatives for customers," Woolworths said.

New Zealand's grocery sales are dominated by the local cooperative, Foodstuffs, and the Australian-owned Countdown chain.

The New Zealand growth was even faster than in the Australian supermarket chain, which lifted quarterly sales 11.3 per cent to A$11.17b ($11.9b).

Woolworths said New Zealand supermarket transactions shrank 3.5 per cent in the quarter but were more than offset by the basket size of customers, indicating they heeded government advice to shop less frequently.

Countdown's online sales rose 36.2 per cent in the quarter, amounting to 7.9 per cent of sales, or $152 million. The supermarket expanded its online capacity, including its first e-store in Auckland, and four other stores have been temporarily converted into dedicated online hubs.

Woolworths reported total group sales of A$16.5b in the quarter, up 10.7 per cent from a year earlier.