Grocery retail spend soared by 21.5% in France in March, according to the latest Kantar data.
In the P3 period, which runs from February 24 to March 22, Kantar said that French consumers both conducted their shopping more often (frequency up 8%) and bought more products (average basket up 12%).
Online Sales Gain
The percentage share of online purchases rose by 1.2% in the period, Kantar said, to 7.7%, with the number of transactions conducted online doubling during the four weeks.
Some 20% of households bought groceries online during P3, compared to 11% during the previous period.
There was a market share gain, too, for the supermarket channel, which rose by 1.4% to 26.1%, with store traffic and baskets 'much larger than usual', Kantar said.
There was also a 0.3% increase for the proximity/convenience channel, which now holds 6.1% of the market.
Retailer Performance
Retailers that reaped the benefits from its increased purchasing included Les Mousquetaires, which saw its market share rise 0.8% to 15.5%, thanks to a strong performance by its Intermarché banner.
Intermarché gained almost 800,000 additional shoppers in the period, who in turn spent more in store, while the group's online channel also grew.
Système U also posted a positive 0.6% gain in market share, to 11.6%, with its U stores welcoming an additional 465,000 buyers through their doors. The group's Drive outlets also saw traffic increase, said Kantar.
Carrefour Market, Carrefour Convenience, Auchan Supermarkets and Franprix also saw marginal gains in market share, of 0.1% each.
Analyst Viewpoint
Commenting on the performance of e-commerce channels during the period, analyst Bruno Monteyne of Bernstein Research said, "The strength in online performance is at odds to the capacity-constrained UK online market, which can be explained by the French market being 90% drive and using more dedicated pick centres rather than stores.
"Therefore, taking on additional capacity has not required many more additional vans and drivers like the UK, and the dedicated pick centres make it easier to control stock levels."
© 2020 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.
