Supermarket own brand products dominate festive food shopping
The latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel indicate that Tesco’s meat sales are ahead of many other supermarkets.
Photo: Richard Eaton.
The results have been gathered from the 12 weeks ending 4th December 2016.
Tesco’s volume sales have grown faster than its value sales, particularly in the meat and fresh produce categories.
However, its value sales remain ahead of the market, increasing by 1.6% year on year as the retailer grew its market share to 28.3%.
Sales at Sainsbury’s, meanwhile, have fallen by 0.6%, with market share down 0.2 percentage points to 16.5%.
Asda’s sales have fallen by 4.7% at a marginally slower rate than in recent months.
And reflecting a smaller store estate, Morrisons’ overall sales declined by 1.4%, but the retailer saw a particularly strong performance online – reportedly recording its highest ever sales in that channel.
The Kantar Worldpanel figures also reveal a strong performance for premium own label ranges in the run up to the festive period.
Shoppers are spending 13% more on these lines than they did last year against a backdrop of continued slow growth for supermarkets overall, where year-on-year sales increased by just 0.7%.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, explained: “Top-tier private label finds its way into 12% of shopping trips, with 88% of consumers now buying from these lines.
“In the past 12 weeks, 6.3% of own label purchases were from premium lines such as Tesco Finest and Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, well ahead of the 5.7% recorded last year.”
He continued: “We’ve seen particularly impressive performances from Morrisons’ The Best, which saw sales increase by 35%, and Asda Extra Special which grew by 15%. Over Christmas it’s likely that premium lines will record their highest ever sales figures as even more shoppers trade up to treat their loved ones.
“Despite widespread anticipation of higher prices shoppers are yet to feel the pinch of rising inflation, with a typical basket of everyday groceries 0.1% cheaper than this time last year.”
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