Aldi’s market share reached a new record this period hitting 9.4% despite grocery inflation rising to its highest level, new research shows.
According to retail analytics company Kantar, the German discounter has maintained its place as the fastest growing UK supermarket as it pushed its market share higher than ever, with sales up by 26.7%.
It was closely followed by Lidl, which increased sales by 25.4% – with its share of the market now standing at 7.1%.
While grocery price inflation rose to 17.1% in the four weeks to 19 February, the highest level ever recorded by Kantar, it marks a full year since monthly grocery inflation climbed above 4%.
Online grocery retailer Ocado put in a strong performance, despite posting a £4 million loss in its full year results today, with sales dropping to £2.2 billion for 2022. Bucking the overall trend in online sales – which fell by 0.9% over the 12 weeks – Ocado grew sales by 11.3% to achieve its largest ever market share of 1.9%.
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Furthermore, frozen food specialist Iceland also won back some retail market share, taking 2.4% of sales – up from 2.3% last year – as spending through its tills increased by 10.8%.
Tesco edged slightly ahead in the battle between Britain’s biggest retailers, with sales up by 6.6%, while Sainsbury’s and Asda were just behind with sales rising by 6.2% and 5.9%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Morrisons’ sales decline of 0.9% was its best performance since May 2021. Waitrose returned to growth, nudging up sales by 0.7% and now standing with a market share of 4.7%, and convenience retailer the Co-op increased sales by 3.4% while independents and symbols were up by 1.8%.
“The battle to offer best value for consumers continues in this intensely competitive sector, particularly as the traditional retailers look to protect market share from the discounters,” Kantar head of retail and consumer insight, Fraser McKevitt said.
He added: “Own label ranges have been one obvious focus and shoppers have consistently bought them over brands since February last year.
“Sales of these lines are up by 13.2% this month, well ahead of branded products at 4.6%, a trend that shows little sign of stopping,” Mckevitt commented.
It comes as Lidl’s former CEO said that Aldi is set to continue as the UK’s leading discounter, as Lidl has slowed its store openings this year.
