The last set of Kantar Worldpanel UK market-share figures before Christmas show that Aldi remains the country’s fastest-growing supermarket, while Tesco is growing faster than the remainder of the Big Four.
Seeing 15.1% growth year on year, to sit on 6.9% market share, Aldi’s success has been driven by the performance of its premium own-label range, Specially Selected, which saw a 25% increase over the past 12 weeks.
In addition, “Aldi saw notable successes in the chilled aisle, increasing sales of convenience products like ready meals and desserts by an impressive 40% year on year,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel.
Aldi’s growth is marginally ahead of that of Lidl, which saw a 14.5% increase in sales, to sit on 5.1% market share.
“[Lidl was boosted by] a strong performance from well-known brands, which currently account for 11% of the retailer’s sales,” McKevitt added.
The Big Four
Tesco remains the UK’s leading supermarket, posting a 2.5% increase in sales, to sit on 28.2% market share – this is a faster rate of growth than second-placed Sainsbury’s (+2.0%), as well as Asda (+1.2%) and Morrisons (+1.4%).
‘Despite its market share falling by 0.1 percentage points, to 28.2%, Tesco remains Britain’s most-visited retailer, welcoming 21 million households during the latest quarter,’ Kantar Worldpanel wrote.
Run-Up To Christmas
In terms of shopping habits leading up to the big day, McKevitt noted that supermarkets are now fully focused on maximising the Christmas trading season.
“Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year. Last time that happened, in 2006, the Friday before was the most popular day for grocery shopping that year,” he said.
“If we see a similar pattern in 2017, Friday 22 December is likely to win out, as the grocers enjoy not only the biggest shopping day of 2017, but the most successful ever recorded. Over Friday 22 and Saturday 23 December, we expect shoppers to part with an eye-watering £1.5 billion as they fill their trolleys ahead of Christmas Day.”
© 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.
