Grocery Market Share UK -Sainsburys keeps its Strong Run

Waitrose and Aldi post remarkable growth rates of 12.5% and 30.8%

The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, published today for the 12 weeks ending 17 March 2013, show Sainsbury’s is the clear winner among the big four while elsewhere Waitrose and Aldi record the two highest percentage growth rates this period.

Fraser McKevitt, retail analyst at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “Sainsbury’s year-on-year growth of 6.2% firmly beats the total market growth of 3.9%. Since 2004, its annual share has been on a rising trend and now stands at 16.8% for the 52 weeks ending 17 March.”

Market polarisation continues unabated with Waitrose and Aldi holding on to the record shares reported last month. Fraser continues: “Austerity and provenance are the key factors behind the varying retailer performances this month. Continued pressure on household budgets has helped Aldi, Lidl and Iceland to record market beating growths while Waitrose and Sainsbury’s have managed to mostly avoid adverse media coverage from the horsemeat scandal.”

Elsewhere in the big four, Asda holds on to the record share of 17.9% it achieved a year ago but there are share drops for Tesco and Morrisons.

Fraser continues: “Looking ahead, Tesco has responded with its Price Promise promotion which delivers coupons to shoppers at the tills and Morrisons has announced plans to plug its home-delivery gap during 2013. These strategies are expected to help boost the retailers’ performances going forward.”

An update on inflation

Grocery inflation stands at 4.2%* for the 12 week period ending 17 March 2013. This remains higher than the market growth of 3.9% and reflects shoppers’ coping mechanisms such as switching products and retailers and seeking out offers.

*This figure is based on over 75,000 identical products compared year-on-year in the proportions purchased by British shoppers and therefore represents the most authoritative figure currently available. It is a ‘pure’ inflation measure in that shopping behaviour is held constant between the two comparison periods – shoppers are likely to achieve a lower personal inflation rate if they trade down or seek out more offers

Watch the previous commentary here.