Aldi and Lidl grab record Christmas sales share as Asda and Co-op slide | Supermarkets
Discounters Aldi and Lidl took their biggest ever share of the UK’s Christmas grocery market, while Asda and Co-op lost out as shoppers sought bargains to offset rising household bills.
German-owned supermarket chains took a 16.8% share of the market in the four weeks to 28 December; This rate was 16.3% in the previous year.
Shoppers spent a total of £13.8bn on take-home food in the four weeks to 28 December; this figure increased by 3.8% annually to an average of £476 per person.
The highest spend was on fresh meat, which reached sales of £115 million, and chilled snacks such as finger foods, dips and antipasti, which reached £80 million.
Lidl, formerly known as Kantar, has become the fastest-growing bricks-and-mortar chain as Asda and Co-op lose sales and market share, according to the latest figures from Worldpanel by Numerator.
Lidl’s rapid growth places it less than a percentage point behind Morrisons, which is set to become the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket.
Aldi, the UK’s fourth-largest chain, trails behind Asda, where sales fell 4.2%, taking its market share to 11.4%, just 1.3 points more than the discounter. Aldi and Lidl reported record Christmas trade.
But upscale chain Waitrose also recorded a strong increase in sales, rising 4.5% in the three months to 29 December. Ocado, the online specialist selling Marks & Spencer products, increased sales by 15%; This shows that some households have a lot of money to spend.
Ocado’s growth has been helped by more British households turning to the internet for festive shopping. Total online grocery sales increased by 7.5%, reaching 12.2% of the total grocery market, according to Worldpanel.
But the figures showed spending was rising at a slower pace than grocery inflation; inflation fell slightly to 4.3% from 4.7% a month ago; This suggests shoppers are looking for cheaper alternatives by switching to supermarket own-label products, discount chains and buying fewer items.
Premium own-label sales rose 9% to surpass £1bn for the first time in December, with these products appearing in 92% of shoppers’ baskets.
Inflation was caused by increases in the prices of chocolate, coffee, milk and cream. The price of a traditional box of chocolates has surpassed £5 for the first time, despite average pack sizes shrinking by 5% to 551g.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator, said: “This was a Christmas of smart savings and considered choices, with almost every household shopping the supermarkets’ premium range while prices remained top of mind. Discounters took their biggest Christmas share ever and shoppers relied on loyalty cards to get the best deals.”
Tesco remained the UK’s largest grocer, with sales up 4.3% to reach a 28.7% market share, ahead of Sainsbury’s at 16.3%. Both companies will report on Christmas trading later this week.
