British shoppers are increasingly choosing own-label products to help counter surging inflation, according to research by NielsenIQ that showed overall supermarket spending down on a year ago when COVID lockdown measures were in place.
Sales of branded grocery products fell by 5.1% in the four weeks to 26 March, while sales of own-label, or private-label, products created for chain stores were down 1.9%, the market research company said.
The share of sales for own-label products rose from 52.4% to 53.2% compared to a year ago, it said.
"As we leave behind the pandemic, it's clear that shoppers are re-evaluating what they spend," said Mike Watkins, NielsenIQ UK head of retailer and business insight.
"Whilst some of the changes in grocery spend will be due to consumers simply having a different basket mix compared with last year, our data also shows that consumers are now increasingly shopping for private-label products as part of their coping strategy."
Private-Label Sales
Sales of private-label products in the ambient or packaged grocery category increased by 3.3%; a significant change in a category where brands dominate, with 61% share of total sales, it said.
UK inflation hit a 30-year high of 6.2% in February and is heading for 9% later this year, according to the government's budget watchdog, which predicted living standards in 2022 would fall by the most since at least the 1950s.
Grocery Spend Declines
Overall grocery spending fell 4.1% year-on-year in the period, the steepest decline so far recorded in 2022, NielsenIQ said.
However, the period was the final comparison against extensive lockdown measures, indicating a potential return to growth post Easter and into the spring.
The strongest performing retailers were M&S, with sales up 9.4%, and German discounters Lidl and Aldi, up 8.6% and 5.6% respectively. The three were the only retailers to gain market share, it said.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM – your source for the latest private-label news. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
