Discounters Aldi and Lidl have together broken the 12% market share barrier in the UK for the first time, according to Nielsen retail data published today.
The data, for the 12-week period to 25 February, found that Aldi now accounts for 7.4% of the market, with Lidl accounting for 4.8%; a combined share of 12.2%.
The study found that in the period, Aldi’s share grew 12.0% year-on-year, while Lidl’s was up 9.1%. This is way ahead of the market average of 2.2%, and well ahead of market leader Tesco, which saw its sales rise 0.8% year-on-year.
Among the ‘big four’ grocers, Tesco retains leadership with 27.4% share, ahead of Sainsbury’s (15.8%), Asda (14.3%) and Morrisons (10.0%). Asda saw the biggest year-on-year sales decline of all retailers included in the study, dropping by 0.9%.
“Whilst the retail landscape is very different to 25 years ago when Aldi entered the UK, discounter market share is higher than when Kwik Save was at its pomp as the original discounter,” says Mike Watkins, Nielsen’s UK head of retailer and business insight.
“The difference today is that Aldi and Lidl aren’t solely associated with low-priced brands, having been very astute at promoting the quality and price of their private-label range to appeal to a wider array of shoppers.
“Aldi and Lidl’s momentum continues due to new stores opening and the average shopper spending more – testament to the wider and higher quality of products available.”
The discounters aside, Iceland saw the biggest increase in year-on-year sales (+5.6%), with Morrisons posting the biggest increase among the ‘big four’ (1.9%).
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
