Consumer spend in the grocery channel rose by 3.7% in France in December, the latest Kantar market share data has revealed, with discounter Lidl the strongest performer in the four-week period.
According to data for the so-called P13 period (30 November to 27 December), Lidl grew by 0.5 percentage points during the month, with Le Groupement Les Mousquetaires growing by 0.4 percentage points, and Carrefour, Groupement U and E.Leclerc growing by 0.3 percentage points each.
Lidl recruited 280,000 additional customers in the period, which reflects the discounter's increased media investments (+13%) and the number of points of sale it operates.
The discounter has also seen loyalty levels increase; it now ranks second in terms of retailers that consumers love the most, Kantar said.
Carrefour's 0.3 percentage point gain was its highest since June 2014 (when it grew by 0.5 percentage points) – the retailer benefited from its online channels as well as the performance of its Carrefour Market and Carrefour Proximité neighbourhood stores.
E.Leclerc, which still holds a market leadership position in France, also reaped the benefits of increased online spend – E.Leclerc Online now accounts for 45% of total online grocery spend in France.
Sales Drivers
Grocery sales always surge in December, and this year it was even more the case, due to the re-introduction of lockdown measures – consumers spent €3.20 more on average in P13 2020, while basket sizes were up 10%.
At the same time, however, traffic levels were down 6%, as fewer shoppers went to stores due to contagion fears.
Over the course of the year, spending was up 8.3%, Kantar said, however traffic numbers were down 5%, equating to about 120 million fewer shopping trips.
The retailer that showed the highest level of growth over the full year was Le Groupement Les Mousquetaires, which saw its market share rise to 15.2%, gaining nearly 500,000 additional customers in the process.
© 2021 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.
