The UK grocery sector saw a 1.6% decline in sales in May, compared to the same month the previous year, according to Nielsen.
The research firm said that consumer spending in the UK grocery sector continues to slow. Compared to the bumper spring period in 2018, this spring has been tougher for supermarkets, Nielsen said.
Decline
This is a significant drop in grocery spend compared to the same month last year, which saw an uplift of +5% driven by the early heatwave and the Royal Wedding, according to the report.
This year, Nielsen's data shows that while sales have declined in the last four weeks, there is a slight increase in supermarket promotional activity.
The period saw promotions account for 27% of sales, with price cuts celebrating Sainsbury's and Tesco's milestone anniversaries, as well as Morrisons' Price Crunch campaign.
Investing
Supermarkets are also investing more in advertising to support these campaigns, Nielsen said.
Nielsen's data reveals that advertising spend on TV and press increased 4% year-on-year to £80.6 million in the period January to April 2019.
Asda topped the list as the largest supermarket advertising spender.
“Consumer confidence remains unchanged and with the cost of household bills continuing to rise, and 40% of households feeling insecure about their finances, the economy remains the number one concern for shoppers." said Mike Watkins, head of retail, Nielsen's UK.
"The result is that shoppers remain cautious about their grocery spend as they look to manage their overall household budgets.” he added.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Helen Galgey. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
