UK retailer Sainsbury’s posted a 1.0% decline in sales in the 12 weeks to 24 February, the only Big Four retailer to see a decline, according to the latest market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel.
Sainsbury’s sits on 15.7% market share – just ahead of third-placed Asda, which saw a 1.0% increase in sales, to sit on 15.5% share.
Tesco continues to lead the market, with a 1.3% increase in sales, putting it on 27.7% market share for the period.
Commenting on Sainsbury’s performance, Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said, “Sainsbury’s sales fell by 1.0%, reducing its market share by 0.5 percentage points, to 15.7%. Despite this, its premium Taste the Difference range proved popular – sales rose by 4%, and the products found their way into a quarter of all Sainsbury’s shopping baskets.”
In terms of the retailer’s would-be merger partner, Asda, McKevitt added, “Asda continued its run of uninterrupted growth since April 2017, increasing sales by 1.0%. Own-label lines at the supermarket continued to outperform brands, and an increase in the number of online shopping trips helped boost growth overall.”
Discounter Strength
The strongest performer, according to the figures, was Aldi, which achieved double-digit (10.0%) sales growth in the period, to sit on 7.6% market share.
Fellow discounter Lidl also outperformed the market, with growth of 5.4%, putting it on 5.2% market share.
As McKevitt noted, Aldi’s strength in the period was boosted by its focus on Valentine’s Day promotions.
“In the past, there may have been a bit of a stigma about treating your loved one from a discounter – that just isn’t the case any more,” he said.
“Planning for the perfect date night, 10% of the population bought chocolate, wine, steak, shellfish or a chilled dessert from Aldi during the week of Valentine’s Day, helping it increase market share by 0.6 percentage points, to 7.6%,” he added.
Overall, supermarket sales were up 1.9% in the 12-week period.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
