Aldi is fourth biggest supermarket

MORRISONS has lost its position as Britain’s fourth largest supermarket as soaring prices drive more customers to cheaper rival Aldi.

The German discounter increased its market share to 9.3pc in the three months to Sept 4, from 8.1pc a year ago. Morrisons slipped behind Aldi into fifth place as its market share dropped from 9.8pc to 9.1pc, according to the latest figures from Kantar.

The change comes as the price of food continues to soar, with almost £40 added to Kantar’s estimate of shopping basket inflation in just a month. The market research firm forecasts that grocery bills will soar by £571 this year, compared with an estimate of £533 made in August.

Recent analysis from Trolley.co.uk for The Telegraph found that, among the original “big four” supermarkets, prices are rising fastest at Morrisons.

Prices rose by an average of 4.7pc compared with last August across the retailer’s 13,000 products.

A Morrisons spokesman said: “Customers don’t care about market share statistics – they care about value, quality and service and that is our focus.”