Mercadona retained its dominant position in the Spanish supermarket sector in 2024, increasing its market share by 0.5 percentage points to 26.6%, according to the latest data from Kantar.
Mercadona's success stems from growth in previously less penetrated regions, like the Basque Country in northern Spain, where it is taking on established players like Eroski.
However, it is facing challenges in maintaining growth in already strong areas, where growth has stagnated over the past five years.
Other hurdles include the tendency of price conscious shoppers to turn to other retailers offering promotions, and the impact of its fish counter transformation on self-service.
Mercadona’s growth outpaced its rivals, including discount chains Lidl and Aldi, which saw increases in market share of 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.
Promotional activity boosted Lidl’s share to 6.5%, strengthening its position as the country's third largest. This came at the expense of Carrefour, whose market share remained stagnant at 9.8%.
Carrefour's struggling hypermarket performance (-0.4%) is losing ground with families who are shifting to smaller, local format stores.
Eroski's market share decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 4.3%, and DIA's share also fell 0.2 percentage points to end the year to 3.6%, primarily due to Mercadona's growth in the Basque Country.
Kantar noted that DIA's decline was partly due to the sale of over 200 stores to Alcampo, but the company has been recovering recently, thanks to an improved store image and a stronger private-label brand.
Consum's market share stood at 3.4% (+0.1%), followed by Alcampo at 3% (-0.1%), and Aldi at 1.7% (-0.1%).
Ifa, which includes associated regional brands such as Condis, Hiper Usera, or Dinosol, held a 10.5% share.
Regional Players Eat Into Lidl’s Share
Besides Mercadona, another top performer in 2024 was the regional group Ifa, which gained 0.5% in market share to reach 10.5%.
Local and regional stores now hold a combined 18% of the market – a 0.7% increase compared to the previous year.
Kantar added that customers are mainly switching from Lidl to these stores, attracted by their fresh food, diverse brand selection, and popularity with the older demographic.
Furthermore, regional chains are expanding their customer base by moving into new areas, like BM Supermercados' expansion into Madrid and Consum's move outside the Valencian Community.
However, these stores often struggle to provide a complete shopping experience.
Private-Label Brands
Overall, the Spanish food distribution market saw growth of 1.8% in value and almost no change in volume.
The market is increasingly dominated by large, organised retailers, while traditional trade saw a 3.6% decrease in sales volume in 2024, to 21.2%.
Conversely, private-label brands continue to perform well, capturing 44.1% of the overall mass consumption market (+1.1%).
