Customers have flocked to discount retail stores as grocery inflation hits 5.9%, its highest level since December 2011.

According to the latest figures from Kantar, Aldi is the fastest-growing retailer over the 12 weeks to 17 April. Its sales increased by 4.2% followed closely by Lidl which was up 4%.

“Over one million extra shoppers visited Aldi and Lidl respectively over the past 12 weeks compared with this time last year,” Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said.

“Both retailers achieved record-breaking market shares, with Aldi now holding 8.8% while Lidl stands at 6.6%.

“Collectively, the two discounters account for 15.4% of the market – up from just 5.5% a decade ago.”

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Aside from the discounters, Tesco was the only other retailer to gain market share in this period, growing by 0.3% to hold 27.3% of total grocery sales.

Sainsbury’s accounts for 15% of the market, followed by Asda at 14.1% and Morrisons at 9.5%.

The news comes as Asda recently invested £73 million in lowering prices across more than 100 family favourites in a bid to tackle the cost-of-living crisis for its customers and colleagues.

Additionally, Morrisons has cut the prices of hundreds of its own-brand lines as part of its bid to help consumers as they face up to the rising cost of living.

McKevitt added: “The major retailers are listening to shoppers’ concerns, with Asda launching its Just Essentials line, Morrisons announcing that it is cutting the price of many everyday goods, and Tesco locking in savings through its Clubcard strategy.”

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