Red meat retail performance – 9 August 2026

Beef retail performance

Total Beef saw a volume decline of -2.0% year on year, but a 3.3% spend increase due to increased average prices of 5.4%.

For total primary beef products, spend increased 3.2% year on year, whilst volumes declined 3.1%.

Beef mince saw the greatest actual decline (-2,237 tonnes), falling 7.8% year on year, driven by a reduction in volumes purchased per trip and fewer buyers. It seems that higher average prices (+7.6% year on year) continue to impact demand.

In contrast, beef steaks (+13.4%) were in volume growth. Beef steak growth was driven by more buyers and increased volumes purchased per trip. Strong promotions also prompted this growth, with 10.7 percentage points more sold on promotion than last year.

Total processed beef also saw strong growth, with volumes increasing 9.9% year on year. Burgers and grills drove this growth, with volumes up 13.0% (+2,166 tonnes). Sliced cooked meats also saw volume growth (+3.4%). Burgers and grills in particular were helped by promotional activity, with 17.5 percentage points more volume sold on promotion year on year.

Strong sales of Beef steaks and processed beef may have been helped by warmer weather, which encouraged more people to buy steak cuts and products for grilling. Growth may also be a result of a growing interested in ‘big nights in’, where customers are eating out less and buying special, more premium meals for the home instead.

Total added value beef also grew, with volumes increasing 0.5% year on year, despite spend being down -0.3%.  

See the full data and these insights visualised on our GB household Beef purchases retail dashboard.

Lamb retail performance

Total Lamb saw a volume decline of 6.0%, but a spend increase of 2.4%, as higher average prices continued to place pressure on demand across the category.

For total primary lamb products, spend declined 2.1% year on year, whilst volumes fell 10.5%.

Lamb leg roasting saw the biggest drop in sales volume, falling 30.1% compared with last year. This was mainly because fewer shoppers bought it and those who did bought smaller amounts. Other roasting cuts also struggled, with Lamb shoulder roasting down -10.1% in volume year on year.

Lamb chops fell 12.3% and lamb mince declined 5.7%.

While overall lamb volumes fell, volumes increased by 6.7% for lamb steak and 24.2% for lamb stewing cuts, showing that shoppers continued to favour these cuts. Lamb steak had 3.7 percentage points more volume sold on promotional year on year, much lower than beef, which support its more modest growth compared to Beef steaks.

Processed lamb volumes declined 7.5% year on year. Burgers and grills were down 5.3%, reflecting fewer shoppers purchasing the category. Similarly, added value Lamb was also in volume decline (-1.3%), pushed by larger declines in Sous vide.

See the full data and these insights visualised on our GB household lamb purchases retail dashboard.

Pig meat retail performance

Total pigmeat saw volume decline also (0.9%), but smaller than declines seen in total beef or total lamb. Spend also increased at 0.5%, again due to average prices increases (1.4% year on year).

Total primary pig meat volumes increased 0.8% year on year, while spend moderately declined by 0.5%.

Pig meat mince saw strong growth, with volumes increasing by 26.6% (+1,060 tonnes), as many shoppers switched from beef mince to pork mince in the period, as well as buying it more frequently, and purchasing more on each shopping trip. Pig belly also grew by 8.8%, while several other cuts saw declining sales.

Processed pig meat volumes fell by 2.9% year on year. Volumes of bacon rashers, sliced cooked meats and sausages all declined. Bacon rashers had the largest fall, down 1,673 tonnes compared with last year.

Added value pig meat remained a key growth area, with volumes increasing 6.6% and spend rising 7.7%. Growth was driven by sous vide (+13.0%) and marinades (+8.9%), highlighting continued shopper demand for convenient meal solutions.

See the full data and these insights visualised on our GB household pork purchases retail dashboard.

1 Worldpanel by Numerator UK, 12 w/e 9 August 2026

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