Grocery Market Share UK - Differences Among The Big 4

The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel UK, published today for the 12 weeks ending 28 October, show sharply differing fortunes for the big four supermarkets.

The stand-out performer is Sainsbury’s, which has delivered a 0.4 percentage point jump in market share – moving from 16.4% a year ago to 16.8% now. Paralympics sponsorship, Brand Match and own-label investment have all helped to boost Sainsbury’s appeal to its shoppers.

Tesco continues to experience the pressure on share that has been a feature of the past year, growing behind the market at 2.1%.

Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, comments: “Morrison’s performance this month will cause concern, with its share dropping from 12.0% to 11.5% and a decline in sales of 0.4%. Recent announcements about the development of online and convenience, which are the two fastest growing grocery channels, will no doubt be given added urgency as these channels continue to deliver growth for competitors.”

Asda’s share is unchanged this period as the effect of the Netto acquisition has largely dropped out of the year-on-year comparisons.

The discounters continue to progress as Aldi reaches a 3.0% market share – yet another all-time record for the retailer. Waitrose also impresses, as it gears up for its traditionally strong Christmas period, by holding on to the record 4.7% share it achieved last period.

An update on inflation

Grocery inflation stands at 3.0%* for the 12 week period ending 28 October 2012. This is an increase on the 2.6% we reported last period and may herald further increases going forward as the widely reported rises in world foodstuff prices work their way through to retail channels.

*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.