Le Groupement Les Mousquetaires, which operates the Intermarché brand, showed the highest increase in market share (0.7 percentage points) in the French grocery market in February, new data from Kantar has shown.
According to the data from the P2 period, which runs from 25 January to 21 February, Les Mousquetaires now stands on 15.9% market share, driven by sales in both its e-commerce channels and in-store.
Market leader E. Leclerc reported a 0.6 percentage point increase during the period, to stand on 22.3%, while Le Groupement U saw a 0.4 percentage point increase to 11.2% market share.
Discounter Lidl was another strong performer, reporting a 0.4 percentage point increase to stand on 6.6% market share during the P2 period.
The retailer has attracted an additional 420,000 households, as well as developing stronger customer loyalty, Kantar said. Lidl has also performed stronger in terms of certain KPIs such as 'choice' and 'promotion', the research firm added.
Elsewhere, Carrefour saw small declines in its hypermarkets (down 0.2 percentage points) and Carrefour Market (down 0.1 percentage points), however its proximity channel remained static. Auchan Retail posted a 0.4 percentage point decline.
Sales Performance
According to Kantar, grocery sales were up 7.1% in value terms dung the period, with the percentage of transactions taking place in physical stores down 4.6%, while internet shopping is up 44%.
The e-commerce channel now accounts for 9.6% of the market, up 2.8 percentage points, with more than seven million households making at least one third of their grocery purchases online during the last 12 weeks.
Hypermarkets and supermarkets saw a 2.5% decrease in market share, while the penetration of these channels dropped by 2.1%, Kantar said. The challenges are most visible in terms of larger stores, it added, with curfews leading to the closure of large shopping centres for periods of the day.
The proximity channel remains solid, however, seeing a 0.1 percentage point increase to 6.2%. [Pic: ©Sylv1rob1/123RF.COM]
© 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.
