Most supermarkets will open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve

Most supermarkets in Belgium have confirmed that they will be open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve this year, albeit with limited hours.

While both those holidays fall on a Sunday this year, a day when most supermarkets are traditionally closed, a survey of the sector found that most grocery chains will open their doors for at least half a day.

Aldi and Colruyt - including Okay shops and the Collect&Go service - will have most of their stores open from 8.30 to 13.00.

Bio-Planet will be open from 9.00 to 13.00. Spar shops, which are open on Sundays anyway, will have variable hours.

Delhaize’s non-franchise stores will be open from 9.00 to 14.00, while most of its franchised locations are normally open on Sundays anyway.

Carrefour’s non-franchise stores will be open from 8.00 to 16.00 on 24 December and from 8.00 to 17.00 on 31 December.

Almost all Carrefour Express and Carrefour Market stores, which are operated by franchisees, are already open every Sunday.

Lidl will not be making adjustments to its normal schedule, explaining that in previous years consumers were not rushing out to make major purchases on those days.