In its latest grocery market share data, Worldpanel by Numerator observed a rise in shoppers making purchases of tinned meat.
The rise came as shoppers responded to the Government ‘Be Ready’ campaign, which encouraged consumers to stockpile enough provisions for three days.
Sales of essential supplies jumped in the ten days from 22nd October after the campaign launch. The number of people buying tinned meat each day after the launch of the campaign rose by 43%, equivalent to an extra 400,000 shoppers a day, yet the typical amount bought remained at around 500g in terms of pack size. Tinned and jarred goods saw a 37% rise in sales.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator, commented: “Shoppers clearly took notice of the ‘Be Ready’ campaign, but this wasn’t panic buying, with less than a third of households buying bottled water in October. Growth came from more people adding the recommended items on the Government’s checklist to their weekly shop, not from shoppers piling their trolleys high, which is very much in line with what the Government wanted households to do.”
Grocery inflation edges up slightly
Take-home sales at the grocers increased by 2.2% in the four weeks to 1st November 2026 compared with a year ago, while like-for-like grocery price inflation remained “relatively subdued” but rose slightly to 2.6%, up from 2.5% in the previous four weeks.
McKevitt continued: “Grocery price inflation continued to increase after slowing over the summer. While prices are rising at a slower rate than at the beginning of the year, the direction of travel has changed. Household budgets have already taken a hit after the latest increase to the energy price cap arrived with the cold weather in October, and shoppers will be keeping a close eye on prices at the tills this winter.”
Sales at Morrisons rose by 2%, delivering a market share of 8.3%. Tesco now commands a 27.8% share, with sales 1.2% higher over the latest 12 weeks. Meanwhile, sales at Sainsbury’s increased by 0.8% to give a share of 15.5%.
Spending through the tills at Lidl increased by 6.6%, resulting in a market share gain of 0.4%, and it now accounts for 8.6% of all sales. The third retailer to increase share compared with last year was Waitrose, moving up to 4.5% from 4.4% as sales rose by 2.2%, while Asda achieved a market share of 11.3%.
Sales at Ocado grew by 12.3% over the 12 weeks to 1st November 2026 versus the same time a year ago. This represented the 30th consecutive period of double-digit growth, and the online-only specialist achieved a joint record market share of 2.3%, up from 2.1% in 2025. M&S, part owner of the Ocado retail business, separately increased grocery sales through its stores in the same time period by 14.6%.
