Grocery retailers Aldi and Lidl are bringing in the new year with 27% and 24% sale increases, respectively, the European Supermarket Magazine (ESM) reports.

The European discounters saw substantial growth during the 12-week period leading up to Christmas Day, according to the outlet.

However, according to figures from data analytics and brand consulting company Kantar, the upward trend is mostly driven by inflation.

“Monthly grocery sales were a whopping £1.1 billion [$1.31 billion] higher in December versus last year, breaching the £12 billion mark for the first time," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar to ESM.

Although value sales for the sector remained considerably up throughout 2022, grocery price inflation is the “real driving factor” behind the sales rise, the executive said.

“If we look at the amount people bought this period, sales measured by volume are actually down by 1% year-on-year, showing the challenges shoppers are facing,” McKevitt added.

For traditional U.K. supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, sales were also up by an average of almost 5%.

On the other hand, Morrisons reported a 3% decrease in sales, which remains the grocer's best performance since mid-2021, Kantar said.