Nearly half of shoppers have switched to cheaper supermarkets as the ongoing cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, new research has found.
According to a report by Paragon Bank, 46% of shoppers have already changed supermarkets, with a further 30% considering the switch.
As a result, Aldi saw a 79% increase in customers from 3% to 82%, with rival Lidl also seeing an increase of 65%, reporting 70% of customers now using the discount grocer.
This comes as Lidl achieved a new record market share of 7.4%, while Aldi remains the fastest growing retailer with sales up 24.4%, according to new data by Kantar.
Due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, customers are opting to shop at alternatives to their usual retailer, hoping to get more for their money, this is evident as in the 12 weeks to 4 September, Kantar revealed, Lidl customers have been shifting their grocery shopping to Aldi.
This comes as the CEO of Aldi, Giles Hurley stated customers have been switching the retailer “in droves” as the cost of living crisis continues to hit struggling households.
As a result, the number of customers shopping at premium retailers including Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and online-only grocer Ocado have fallen by at least 50%.
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Marks and Spencer saw a drop from 47% of customers to 21%, with Waitrose customers dropping from 33% to 15% and Ocado 8% to 4%, respectively.
Some 7% of customers used to use Iceland, however, according to the research, 35% have made the switch the frozen food retailer.
The changing habits of shoppers was also evident in falls and increases recorded by the market leaders, with Tesco and Asda both gaining ground whilst Sainsbury’s fell back.
The number of people using Tesco soared to 51% compared with 34% previously with Asda’s customers doubling to 44%.
However, both Sainsbury’s and Morrisons saw customers scale back, with Sainsbury’s seeing a 10% drop to 35% and Morrisons seeing a small 3% slump to 33%.
“With savers facing ongoing high food costs it is understandable that they are taking pragmatic steps to find better value limit the impact of inflation, with the research finding substantial evidence of savers switching supermarkets and cutting back on meals out and takeaways,” Paragon Bank savings director Derek Sprawling said.
