Lidl is set to overtake Morrisons as the UK’s fifth largest grocer, as an extra 770,000 shoppers flocked through its doors in the last month.
CEO of the German discounter, Ryan McDonnell, declared that the firm has the “momentum” to surpass its more established rival, adding that there was still “a lot of work to be done.”
The comments come as Lidl said it had taken £58million worth of spending in the past month alone from the former big 4 grocers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
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The discounter is picking up hordes of shoppers who are conscious of keeping grocery bills down as the cost-of-living crisis continues to spiral.
Lidl and its rival German discounter Aldi have been the fastest-growing grocers in the UK this year, welcoming more customers as they switch from major retailers and increasing their share of the market.
This trend has been accelerated by the soaring cost-of-living, with the pair seeing annual sales growth of around 20 per cent.
Retail analyst Richard Hyman said it is now a matter of “when, not if” Lidl surpasses Morrisons.
He said: “Lidl will gain shoppers at a faster rate than they have for a while because people will continue trading down,” adding that Lidl could overtake Morrisons in as little as 18 months.
The news comes as sales at the sixth largest supermarket in the UK edged up 1.5% to £7.8 billion, a 13% rise against a two-year comparison – while full year profits soared by more than 300%
The discount grocer also revealed this year’s iconic Christmas jumper design with a nod to one of the nation’s favourite festive movies as it also teases its Christmas campaign.
