Lidl surpasses Morrisons as the UK’s fifth biggest supermarket for food and drink
Lidl has overtaken Morrisons to become the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket for food and drink sales, according to new data from Kantar.
According to data shared with The Grocer, Lidl’s market share in food and drink (covering fresh, chilled and ambient grocery) reached 7.7% in the 52 weeks to 13 July 2025, up from 7.3% the previous year, driven by 10.1% sales growth.
In contrast, Morrisons slipped to 7.6%, down from 7.8%, as its food and drink sales grew by just 1.5%.
This measure differs from Kantar’s (now Wordpanel by Numerator) published overall till roll data, which includes non-food and excludes petrol and concessions, where Morrisons narrowly retains its lead.
Related Story
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
In those figures, Lidl hit a record 8.3% share, just behind Morrisons on 8.4%, and is expected to overtake in early 2026.
Lidl’s growth reflects continued expansion, with 40 new store openings planned for 2025 and the discounter on track to reach its 1,000th UK store in November. Its estate is expected to grow to 1,500 in the long term.
Speaking to the publication a Morrisons spokesperson said: “The numbers are partly a function of new supermarket openings, where we haven’t added new space for some time, and the survey doesn’t capture all of the growth we are seeing in convenience and wholesale, and our Myton manufacturing business.”
It is not the first time one of the traditional grocer’s has been overtaken by a discounter. In 2022, Aldi beat Morrisons to the position of the UK’s fourth largest grocer, meanwhile, in April Aldi surpassed Asda for market share of food and drink sales, despite Asda’s continued efforts to turn around its declining figures.
9 Comments. Leave new
Morrisons long downfall can be traced back to its failed integration of the Safeway estate. Everything thereafter has seen store standards spiral downwards, service crash and burn and its store estate stagnating. Market Street is literally its single biggest point of differentiation and it can’t even decide if it still wants that or not. The CD&R debt fuelled “acquisition” will hamper any turnaround, and will ultimately see it dead and buried in the next 5-7 years (with ASDA another grossly indebted retailer following on not far behind). There are definite lessons to be learned by our other grocers.
Morrisons long downfall can be traced back to its failed integration of the Safeway estate. Everything thereafter has seen store standards spiral downwards, service crash and burn and its store estate stagnating. Market Street is literally its single biggest point of differentiation and it can’t even decide if it still wants that or not. The CD&R debt fuelled “acquisition” will hamper any turnaround, and will ultimately see it dead and buried in the next 5-7 years (with ASDA another grossly indebted retailer following on not far behind). There are definite lessons to be learned by our other grocers.
Morrisons has gone in decline do to the passing of Ken Morrison.
Morrisons are everything that is wrong about retailing, disrespect for staff, and total abuse of landlords. I am delighted that my constant negative feedback about this supermarket may be further damaging them.
I don’t agree totally with you assessment of the safeway take over I do agree with the rest of your assessment of the future of morrisons. Unfortunately it’s a success story gone wrong, ever since the family sold out to the city it’s been run with total incompetence and now it’s just a matter of time. Unless it’s acquired by an experienced retailer which is unlikely it’s only going to go one way.
Morrisons stores are dirty, run down, and lacking any sort of meaningful investment. Look at what M&S, Sainsbury’s etc are doing with their stores and Morrisons becomes even more horrendous. Another sell out to private equity that’ll end in this legacy brand consigned to history. Will they ever learn or will greed always win out? Seems so.
Poor leadership and poor decision making across functions. Look at some of the promotions it embarrassing.
Doesn’t surprise me, but well done Lidl. A pleasure to shop there!
I’m not surprised at morrisons’ decline. They’ve had one of their supermarkets closed for over a year, with no proper explanation nor any information as to when it will/won’t re-open.
Well done morrisons, for being so disrepectful to your customers, who are very inconvenienced by having to travel much further to your other stores, and you can’t even give us the courtesy of being regularly updated, taking your customers for granted.