Kantar confirms rising prices are impacting on consumer trends
A fall in supermarket sales as grocery prices reach a new high, with inflation standing at 4.3% in February, has been recorded by Kantar.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “Apart from the start of the pandemic, when we saw grocers cut promotional deals to maintain availability, this is the fastest rate of inflation we’ve recorded since September 2013. Added to this, ongoing supply chain pressures and the potential impact of the conflict in Ukraine are set to continue pushing up prices paid by consumers.”
He added: “In terms of understanding how shoppers are responding, it’s a complex picture for the market this month. Households spent on average £26.07 less at supermarkets in February and own label sales did better than brands for the first time in three months.”
McKevitt noted that the drop in monthly spending isn’t all down to “savvy budgeting”. He argued that the formal end to Covid-19 restrictions in England has led to more people eating on-the-go and eating out. This means that consumers are buying less food and drink to consume at home.
Buying patterns change
Further evidence that shoppers are moving beyond the pandemic can be seen in online sales, down by almost 20% year on year over the past month. However, the market-wide drop in online spending failed to dent Ocado’s performance. It bucked the trend to increase its sales by 0.2% over the past 12 weeks. The retailer also grew its market share from 1.7% to 1.8%.
Market share breakdown
Tesco extended its run of market share gains, taking another 0.3 percentage points. It now accounts for 27.7% of the market. Waitrose also grew ahead of its peers to hold its share of the market flat at 5%. Sainsbury’s market share is now 15.5%, Asda 14.6% and Morrisons 9.8%. Co-op holds 5.7% of the market, Iceland 2.3% and independent retailers stand at 1.6%.
Overall supermarket grocery sales fell by 3.7% over the 12 weeks to 20th February 2022, however sales still remain 8.4% higher than the same period before the pandemic in 2020. Kantar report that the annual decline reflects last year’s winter lockdown when the public was eating more meals and snacks at home.
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