Record high for grocery inflation and Aldi remains fastest growing supermarket
“Grocery price inflation jumped a staggering 2.3 percentage points this month to 16.7% […] Households will now face an extra £788 on their annual shopping bills if they don’t change their behaviour to cut costs,” said Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight, Fraser McKevitt.
He added: “Late last year, we saw the rate of grocery price inflation dip slightly, but that small sign of relief for consumers has been short-lived.”
Kantar reports that grocery price inflation hit a record 16.7% in the four weeks to 22nd January 2023, the highest level since it started tracking the figure in 2008. Overall take-home grocery sales rose by 5.7% during the four week period and by 7.6% over the 12 weeks.
Supermarket competition
McKevitt confirmed that the supermarkets are looking at alternative ways to offer consumers value: “Competition in the British grocery sector is as intense as it’s ever been as retailers strive to retain shoppers. The grocers have been doing this by boosting their own-label ranges especially, with sales of these lines growing consistently over the past nine months. January was no exception as own-label lines grew by 9.3%, well ahead of branded alternatives which were up by just 1.0%.”
He continued: “Aldi, Waitrose and Lidl’s efforts seem to have been particularly well received by shoppers. Our latest customer satisfaction data shows that Aldi scores best on pricing and overall value for money, while Waitrose stands out for knowledgeable staff, product quality and clean shops. Meanwhile, Lidl delivers on easy access to stores and on-shelf availability.”
Supermarket sales
Aldi was the fastest growing grocer for the fourth month in a row this period, with sales 26.9% higher year on year. It now holds 9.2% of the market. Lidl’s sales jumped by 24.1%, putting its market share at 7.1%.
There was little to split Britain’s three largest retailers. Sainsbury’s sales increased by 6.1%, just 0.1 percentage point higher than Asda and Tesco, giving it 15.4% of the market. Tesco remains the largest British retailer with a 27.5% market share while Asda holds 14.2%. Although its sales fell by 1.9%, Morrisons’ performance has continued to improve for the eleventh month in a row and its market share now stands at 9.1%.
Iceland’s share increased by 0.1 percentage point to 2.5%, driven by an annual sales rise of 10.6%. Ocado matched the market’s growth rate at 7.6%, well above overall online sales which were down 0.7%. Convenience specialist Co-op has a 5.5% share of the market and Waitrose accounts for 4.7% of total sales.
Impact of Veganuary
Commenting on how Veganuary has done in supermarket sales McKevitt said: “Sales of supermarket own-label ranges labelled as plant-based or vegan rose by 21%.
“Growth was largely driven by existing shoppers of the category rather than new converts, with 3.4 million consumers making a purchase this January which is slightly down on last year.
“Alongside the pull factor of events like Veganuary, the push element of new regulations on food and drink which is high in sugar, salt and fat could also be having an impact.”
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