Data: Aldi could overtake Asda as UK’s third largest grocer in next 5 years
Aldi is set to approach Asda’s market share by 2027 and could overtake it by 2028, according to GlobalData.
The data and analytics company has said that in order to secure its position in the UK food and grocery market as the third biggest grocer, Asda must “redefine itself with a clear differentiation from discounters”.
GlobalData senior retail analyst Eleanor Simpson-Gould explained: “The grocer must focus on its online capabilities this year to reestablish itself as a dominant player in the market and set itself apart from Aldi. Without immediate action, it risks dropping out of the coveted “big three” position even sooner.”
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
It comes as earlier this week, Asda chair Lord Stuart Rose admitted he is “embarrassed” by the supermarket’s performance and believes co-owner Mohsin Issa should step back from its day-to-day running.
Rose told The Telegraph: “I don’t like being second, third or fourth. And if you look honestly now at the comparative numbers of Kantar or whatever index, we are not performing as well as should be. And I don’t like that.”
His comments came as the grocer posted a 5.3% like-for-like sales fall in its second quarter, while its market share has fallen from 14.8% when the Issa brothers purchased the chain in 2021 to 12.7% last month.
However, according to the past 12 months’ worth of grocery market data from Kantar, Aldi has also decreased in market share from 10.2% in August 2023 to 10% in August 2024, and the discounters market share year on year has decreased in every 12-week Kantar period since March.
Speaking of Asda, Simpson-Gould added: “Such leadership disputes will do little to restore employee morale, already under such strain that colleagues have chosen to strike this year.
“Despite emergency plans to spend £30 million to ensure staff is on checkouts at the weekend, stores are replenished during the day, and improvements are made to in-store cleanliness, Asda’s enhancements to the customer experience feel more like the bare minimum to persuade remaining customers not to shift to discounters.
“For Asda to truly resonate with consumers, it must provide a compelling reason for shoppers to spend money, an intensified focus on price and expanding its core range of grocery products will be crucial.”
Earlier this month, Asda set out plans to focus on three key priorities for the remainder of the year, including customer satisfaction, enhanced product availability and renewed trading plan.
4 Comments. Leave new
ASDA are determined not to pay out on the equal pay claim as per the Supreme Court findings , no wonder they are losing their market share.
I think it’s sooner than you think
Pretty sure Aldi, despite the poor trading recently is bigger than Asda in volume. I think Lidl will be past Morrisons quicker than Aldi past Asda
TDR and Mohsin Issa continue to make cuts in stock items, staffing and colleagues contract hours in a desperate attempt to stem the increase in debt interest.
ASDA, will run out of time and money…
And this will effect thousands of jobs.
Time, the board, ditched Issa, and paid TDR off.
Return ASDA to a real family-run business