Aldi marches on with more market share
Morrisons sees 25th period of growth
ALDI HAS achieved the greatest year-on-year market share gain by any retailer in almost four years, as the discounters get off to a strong start in the race to attract Christmas shoppers.
The latest research from Kantar Worldpanel also revealed that Bradford-based Morrisons achieved its 25th consecutive period of growth, as its revival continues under chief executive David Potts.
The latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, published yesterday for the 12 weeks to November 4 2018, show shoppers have made an additional 14 million trips to Aldi and Lidl compared with the same period last year.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “Five years ago, just under half of British households were visiting one of the discount retailers at least once in a 12-week period. This now stands at almost two-thirds, which is reflected in their continued growth.
“Aldi’s sales increase of 15.5 per cent this period is the fastest rate since January 2018; this has helped lift its market share by 0.9 percentage points to 7.6 per cent, which is the largest year-on-year share gain by any retailer in nearly four years.
“Meanwhile, Lidl is in double digit growth for the second month running; sales are up by 10.2 per cent compared with a year ago and its market share is up 0.4 percentage points to 5.5 per cent.”
At a total market level, sales increased by 2.6 per cent. This is slower compared with recent months but still represents a £663m increase in sales through the tills, Kantar said. Much of the growth came through smaller top up trips, which increased at twice the rate of larger trolley shops.
A dry summer meant this year’s pumpkin crop produced smaller than usual specimens, but this didn’t frighten off shoppers who spent 24 per cent more on the Halloween favourites this October compared with last year – nearly £7m in total.
Chocolate sales jumped by 7 per cent while sweets were up by 5 per cent in the same time period.
Among the retailers Co-op was the other big winner during this period, with sales up by 5.1 per cent. The retailer has cornered a further 0.2 per cent of the market, taking its total share to 6.3 per cent and securing a seventh consecutive period of sales growth. The grocer has attracted an extra 213,000 shoppers in the latest period while its own label has had a strong performance, outpacing brands in categories including biscuits, ice cream and cleaning supplies.
A high-profile environmental stance is helping Iceland to thrive among a much wider set of shoppers than its traditional heartland, according to Kantar.
Mr McKevitt added: “Nearly 37 per cent of Iceland’s sales come from the more affluent ABC1 social group – five years ago this was less than a third. Its banned palm oil Christmas advert is tugging at the heartstrings of Britain’s middle classes and could translate into strong sales growth.
“Sales are already up by 5.0 per cent this period and while frozen food is still increasing, 94 per cent of this growth actually comes from its fresh, chilled and ambient food aisles.”
Sales at Asda have risen by 2.6 per cent year-on-year meaning the retailer has now been in continual growth since April 2017. A strong online performance was bolstered by increased spend in-store and, despite being a more brand-orientated retailer, sales of both the core Asda lines and its premium Extra Special range grew faster than branded products.
Bradford-based Morrisons has achieved its 25th consecutive period of growth, with sales up 1.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to November 4.
Mr McKevitt added: “In line with its competitors, Morrisons is making fewer sales overall through promotions though it has been steadily increasing the number of products sold through multi-buy deals since May. The retailer’s market share has fallen slightly, down 0.1 percentage points to 10.3 per cent.”
At Tesco sales were up by 0.4 per cent, with market share down by 0.6 percentage points to 27.5 per cent; Sainsbury’s sales fell by 0.6 per cent, the first decline for the retailer since June. However, its e-commerce channel continues to be a bright spot, according to Kantar.