Retailer Market Share
More growth for discount retailers, but Sainsbury’s was the only ‘big four’ retailer to post sales growth over the last month, Kantar data shows
Lidl has achieved a new record share of the UK grocery market.
This is the second successive month Lidl has reached a new share high, and now claims 4.3% of the market, after seeing its growth accelerating to 17.9% in the 3 months to 11 October 2015.
The discount retailer’s growth was particularly strong in Scotland, the scene of its ‘smarter shopping’ card trial.
The latest Kantar Worldpanel data also shows that Aldi saw its revenues rocket by 17.6% compared to last year’s figures.
Sainsbury’s was the only one of the larger supermarkets to see sales growth this period, and a strong performance in its online and c-store channels helped it to increase revenues by 1.1%.
However, Sainsbury’s market share was static at 16.1%.
Sales fell at Tesco by 1.7%, though it is too early to see the impact of its revamped ‘Brand Guarantee’ initiative. At Asda, sales fell by three per cent, bringing its market share down by 0.7 percentage points to 16.6%.
Meanwhile, sales at Morrisons fell by one per cent, taking its grocery market share to 10.8%
Fraser McKevitt, of Kantar Worldpanel, said: “In contrast to the overall market, online grocery sales have increased by 9.8% on last year. Despite this rapid expansion, space for retailers to increase both share and revenue in this area remains, with less than a fifth of households currently shopping online.
“Internet sales offer a chance of long term growth – only 18% of households bought groceries online in the last 12 weeks meaning there’s plenty of space for further expansion. The convenience factor and minimum spend restrictions mean online baskets tend to be larger, averaging £67 in value, compared with £14 for the average bricks and mortar trip.
“Amazon Fresh’s expected full launch early next year could be a major disruptor, bringing down average basket sizes, accommodating on demand shopping, and accelerating the growth of the whole online market.”
There has been further success this period for Waitrose, with sales up by 2.1%; The Co-operative also saw sales grow by one per cent, and Iceland grew for the sixth month in a row, increasing sales by 3.2%, benefitting from a wider range of premium products.
Aldi now claims 5.3% of the UK grocery market, as the hard-discounters continue their assault on the UK’s grocery retail scene
Aldi has overtaken Waitrose to become the UK’s sixth-largest supermarket chain.
According to data from Kantar Worldpanel, Aldi now claims 5.3% of the UK grocery market, as the hard-discounters continue their assault on the UK’s grocery retail scene, the roots of which can possibly be traced to the 2008 financial crash.
Waitrose has slipped to seventh position, with a 5.1% share of the market, ahead of Lidl, which boasts a 3.7% share. All three still trail The Co-operative in fifth place, which has a 6% share of the market.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “Aldi has recorded double-digit sales growth for the past four years, and is now Britain’s sixth-largest supermarket with 5.3% of the market.
Growth has been fuelled by over half a million new shoppers choosing to visit Aldi this year, and average basket sizes increasing by seven per cent.
The discounter’s sales have increased by 16.8% in the latest period, still high compared to other retailers but slower relative to its recent performance.”
The data, covering the 12 weeks to 29 March 2015, wasn’t all bad for Waitrose, which – along with Aldi – was one of only three retailers to increase sales ahead of the market.
The John Lewis Partnership business grew sales 2.9% during the period compared to the same time last year, meaning it has recorded unbroken sales growth since March 2009. Lidl was the only other grocer to grow ahead of the market, with sales increasing 12.1% during the period the Kantar Worldpanel data covers.
As for the big four retailers, Sainsbury’s returned to growth for the first time since August 2014, increasing sales by 0.2%, but it continued to lose market share, and now has 16.4% of the overall market.
Tesco, meanwhile, which remains the market leader with a 28.4% share, saw sales rise 0.3% during the period, while Asda and Morrisons suffered a 1.1% and 0.7% decline in sales, respectively.
Strong performance from the UK’s leading retailer comes at the expense of Asda, according to new Kantar Worldpanel figures
Tesco’s return to growth appears to be taking market share from Asda.
That’s according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel, which show that the sector as a whole is still hugely competitive, with the grocery price war driving supermarket deflation to a record level of 1.6% for the 3 months to March 1.
Tesco has posted its strongest performance in 18 months, with the UK’s biggest retailer growing sales by 1.1%, with its market share now down just 0.1% points on last year.
Sales at Asda, meanwhile, were down 2.1%, and its market share dropped by 17%.
Kantar Worldpanel’s head of retail and consumer insight, Fraser McKevitt, said: “Among the big four supermarkets,Tesco has been the stand-out retailer. This resurgence has impacted Asda, which competes for many of the same shoppers as Tesco.”
Morrisons and Sainsbury’s both grew behind the market average, with sales falling by 0.4% and 0.5% respectively in the period the data covers.
Discounters Lidl and Aldi, and premium grocer Waitrose, all continue to grow, with sales up 19.3%, 13.6% and 4.9%, respectively.
Although Aldi experienced its slowest rate of growth since June 2011, it has reached a record five per cent market share, although Waitrose has kept ahead with 5.2% of total spend.