The best and cheapest time to do your big Christmas food shop

With less than four weeks to go before the big day, thoughts are beginning turn to doing 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.

But it turns out there are some tips and tricks to make the big supermarket 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.

Typically, the busiest times in store are around lunchtime, with the highest levels of footfall being recorded between 12pm and 2pm.

Those who want to miss the midday rush should instead opt to shop between 8am and 10am, or 6pm onwards, which Lidl data showed to be the quietest times in store.

To help make festive shopping even smoother, customers can use Lidl Plus to find the best time to shop at their local store, helping avoid peak times.

It's not just Lidl, but most major supermarkets see a lull in shoppers either early in the morning or later in the evening, online supermarket Britsuperstore has analysed the UK's top 10 supermarket chains to find the perfect times to do your Christmas shopping at each one.

Aldi

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 5-6 pm, Saturday 12 pm, Sunday 3 pm

• Quietest: Monday-Friday 8-9 am & 9-10 pm, Saturday 8-9 am & 9-10 pm, Sunday 11 am

• Restock: Before opening & 3 pm (Special "buys every Thursday & Sunday)

• Reduction: Before 8 am & before closing (Fresh produce with red stickers typically discounted 30-75%)

Richard Price, director of Britsuperstore says the exact time of day for reductions will vary from store to store, but most will happen just before the store closes. "Fresh products with reduced prices will be marked by a red sticker, and are typically reduced as they are at the end of their shelf life," he adds. "They will normally be discounted by either 30% or 75%. Dried groceries and tinned food may also be discounted if they have imperfections.”

Lidl

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 12-1 pm & 5-6 pm, Saturday 12-3 pm, Sunday 12 pm

• Quietest: Monday-Friday 8 am & 10-11 pm, Saturday 8 am & 10-11 pm, Sunday 4-5 pm

• Restock: Late night & overnight

• Reduction: Morning & before closing (Two-wave reduction system: first thing in the morning & few hours before closing)

Again, the schedule for price reductions varies from store to store, but the majority of branches operate on a two-wave basis. "Products are reduced first thing in the morning and a few hours before the store closes, although some stores may opt to make reductions throughout the day based on the volume of stock and sell-by dates," Price adds.

Morrisons

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 12-1 pm, Saturday 1pm, Sunday 12pm

• Quietest: Monday-Friday 7-9 am & 9-11 pm, Saturday 7-8 am & 9-11 pm, Sunday 4 pm

• Restock: 5 pm/6 pm

• Reduction: Starts at 3 pm (50% off for near-expiry items), followed by a further reduction at 5 pm (75% off) with final dramatic reductions on in-store cooked food at 8 pm (schedule may vary)

According to Price, Morrisons' stores typically have several waves of price reductions. "Reductions begin at 3pm, with products at the end of their shelf life reduced by 50%," he says. "At 5pm, these products are reduced again, retailing at 75% of their original price. If you’re looking for a bargain on in-store cooked food, we recommend visiting the store at 8pm, as items will be dramatically reduced. Remember, the schedule for reductions may vary depending on the branch."

The Co-Operative

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 5-6pm, Saturday 6 m, Sunday 5-6pm

• Quietest: Monday-Friday 7am and 9-10pm, Saturday 7-8am and 9-10pm, Sunday 7-8 am and 9-10pm

• Restock: Overnight

• Reduction: Starts around 6pm (50% off for expiry-date items), with a possible further reduction at 8pm (schedule may vary)

Price advises visiting your local Co-op at around 6pm to be sure of a discount, although, at some stores, reductions start at 5pm. "Items on sale on the day of their expiration date will usually be sold at 50% of their original price,” he adds.

Tesco

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 3-6pm, Saturday 12-2pm, Sunday 12pm

• Quietest: Monday-Friday 7am and 8-11pm, Saturday 7-9am and 9-11pm, Sunday 7-8am and 10-11pm

• Restock: 6:30am

• Reduction: Starts at 9am (around 10% off), with further reductions between 4-5pm (around 30% off). Best reductions around 8 pm (schedule may vary)

Although some items are reduced by around 10% at 9am, others are reduced further between 4pm and 5pm, by around 30%. "For the best reductions, visit about 8pm, but again, keep in mind discount schedule may vary by store,” Price adds.

Sainsbury's

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 12-4pm, Saturday 12pm, Sunday 3pm

• Quietest: Monday-Friday 7-9 am and 7-10pm, Saturday 8-9am and 9pm, Sunday 11pm and 4pm

• Restock: When closed and throughout the day

• Reduction: Starts after lunch (biggest discounts between 5-7pm) with significant variations by store (check with your local store)

Reduction times at Sainsbury’s varies significantly by store. "Make sure to visit after lunch, as this is when most stores begin to reduce their products. The best time to visit is between 5pm and 7pm, as this is when the biggest discounts will happen,” Price adds.

ASDA (24 hours)

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 5-6pm, Saturday 1pm, Sunday 12pm

• Quietest: Monday 6-8 am and 10-2pm, Tuesday-Friday 10pm-7am, Saturday 12-7am, Sunday 11am and 4pm

• Restock: 10pm

• Reduction: Early morning (6-10 am), 5pm, and 7.30pm (schedule may vary)

Reductions at ASDA typically begin between 6am and 10am. "There is a second round of reductions, taking place at about 5pm, and final reductions begin at around 7.30pm," says Price. "Again, discount schedules may vary from store to store."

M&S

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 5-6 pm, Saturday 4 pm, Sunday 1-3 pm

• Quietest: Monday-Friday 8 am & 8-9 pm, Saturday 8-9 am & 6-7 pm, Sunday 5-6 pm

• Restock: 7 am

• Reduction: Around 9 am (10% off), 2 pm (30% off), and after 4 pm (70-90% off)

“At most Marks & Spencer stores, there are three waves of reductions. The first wave takes place around 9 am, where some items may be reduced by 10%. The real reductions, however, begin around 2 pm. Here, products are normally reduced by 30%. The final wave of reductions happens after 4 pm, where products are reduced between 70% and 90%.”

Waitrose

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 6-7pm, Saturday 6pm, Sunday 4pm

• Quietest: Monday-Friday 8-9am and 9-10pm, Saturday 8-9am and 9-10pm, Sunday 12pm

• Restock: 11 am

• Reduction: Two hours before closing (around 50% off fresh food)

The majority of Waitrose branches begin to reduce their products just after the lunchtime rush. "For the best shot at reduced items at the best price, however, we recommend visiting stores two hours before closing time, when some stock, and in particular fresh food, is reduced by around 50%," Price adds.

Iceland

• Busiest: Monday-Friday 5pm, Saturday 1pm, Sunday 1pm

• Quietest: Monday-Friday 8-9am, Saturday 8-9am, Sunday 10am

• Restock: Before opening

• Reduction: Added to deliveries, plus flash discounts and schemes (check local store)

At Iceland, reductions are added to deliveries. "Iceland also offers 'flash discounts, and discount schemes, so be on the lookout for these. Last year, for example, they announced a scheme which allowed customers over the age of 60 to get 10% off their groceries with no minimum spend every Tuesday," Price advises.

Read more about Christmas:

• We analysed this year's most popular Christmas sandwiches. This is the unhealthiest one (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)

• Five ways to make your Christmas pudding healthier (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)

• Yoga poses to relieve the post-Christmas bloat (Cover Media, 2-min read)