Best time to do your big Christmas food shop
There's less than a week to go before the big day, which means it's almost time to do the big Christmas food shop.
From feeling frazzled in the quest to nab a parking spot, to fighting fellow shoppers for the last tub of brandy butter, no wonder stocking up on all the festive food essentials is the once-a-year experience three in 10 Brits (29%) find stressful.
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But it turns out there are some tips and tricks to make the big shop that little bit less frantic, including knowing the best time of the day to go.
As retailers anticipate a spike in shoppers in the run-up to Christmas, supermarket chain, Lidl, has uncovered the optimum times to stock up on festive goodies and it's all about the mornings and evenings.
In the week leading up to Christmas last year, data found that the quietest times to shop was between 8am and 10am, and from 6pm onwards.
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Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, the middle of the day was the busiest time to hit the aisles, with stores seeing the highest levels of footfall between 12pm and 2pm, as people try to multi-task by using their lunch break to stock up on treats.
It's not just Lidl, but most major supermarkets see a lull in shoppers either early in the morning or later in the evening.
Last year, Aldi revealed that its busiest time for shoppers was between 11am and 3pm, while Tesco said it was quietest "typically early in the morning and late in the evening".
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Asda's quietest times were just after opening and just before closing, while Sainsbury's cited that Mondays and Tuesdays are the best days to shop if you want it to be a little less busy.
With Christmas fast approaching, most supermarket delivery slots are now unavailable, which means an in-person shop will be the best option if you want to stock up for a festive feast.
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