Waitrose and discounters take share from giants as symbols and independents edge down in tough fight
THE big four supermarkets’ battle for the middle ground has intensified, with Waitrose and Aldi setting new sales records while the big four fight it out for what is left, the latest market share analysis from Kantar Worldpanel has shown
Chris Longbottom, director at Kantar Worldpanel, explained: “Aldi’s year-on-year growth rate accelerated to a record 33.5%, meaning the retailer now accounts for 4.3% of the market.”
Lidl, which reached a record 3.2% market share in the previous quarter, held onto it.
None of the growth at the discounters had affected the most premium major grocer end. Waitrose recorded its own highest ever market share figure of 5%.
Longbottom put the trends in context. “Over the past three years Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl have taken a combined 3.5 share points from the competition which equates to £4.4bn per year. This has put pressure on the big four supermarkets to compete for a shrinking middle ground and cut prices to directly combat the discounters.”
Among the big four, Sainsbury’s was the only retailer to maintain its market share year-on-year, holding steady at 17%. Sainsbury’s also matched the overall market growth of 2.2%.
Tesco, Asda and Morrisons all felt the squeeze, recording declines in market share. Tesco and Morrisons also saw a drop in actual sales. Morrisons’ dipped by 3.2% while Tesco’s were down by 0.6%.
The Co-operative had improved on its historical performance, showing positive sales growth of 0.7% and only a marginal drop in market share, to 6.1%.
Symbol and independent stores showed a slight decline in market share, down by 0.2%.
The overall grocery market growth of 2.2% represents a further fall from last period, which was the lowest since mid-2005. Kantar puts that down to falling inflation, which it currently measures at 1.9%.
