According to recent data, take-home grocery sales experienced a significant increase of 10.8% compared to the same period last year. Inflation rates, although down by 0.1 percentage points this month, remain high at 17.2%, the third fastest rate seen since 2008. Therefore, the drop in grocery price inflation is welcome news for shoppers, but consumers may still end up paying an extra £833 annually on their grocery bills if they don’t alter their shopping habits.
However, shoppers have become more savvy and are choosing own-label goods instead, which saw an increase of 15.2%, compared to branded products that rose by only 8.3%. Nonetheless, the gap between own labels and brands is decreasing in most stores because of loyalty discounts.
The Nectar pricing scheme, recently launched, boosted sales of brands bought on a deal in Sainsbury’s by over a quarter this period. The supermarkets are competing to offer value to shoppers, and therefore, the prices of staple items such as milk have come down in the past month. For instance, the average cost of four pints of milk has reduced by 8 pence since last month; prices are still much higher than they were 12 months ago, at £1.60 presently versus £1.30 last year.
Despite this, grocery sales soared by 16% during the week of the coronation, adding up to an extra £218 million passing through the tills, with sparkling and still wine especially popular. Waitrose benefited significantly from a substantial uplift in the week of the coronation, with sales up by 4.8% over the 12 weeks, the highest rate of growth that the retailer has achieved since April 2021, with a market share of 4.6%.
Aldi was the fastest-growing grocer last month, with sales up by 24.0%, followed closely by Lidl, whose sales increased by 23.2%. The two discounters now account for 17.8% of the market, Aldi’s share being 10.1% and Lidl’s 7.7%. Morrisons achieved an 8.7% share, while Asda’s grew by 10.6%, taking its market share to 13.9%, a rise of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year.
Tesco, the largest supermarket in Britain, experienced an 8.9% increase in sales, and its market share now stands at 27.1%, with growth across its convenience stores, largest format supermarket, and online channels. Sainsbury’s sales also rose by 10.5%, and it held its market share steady at 14.8%. Convenience specialist Co-op’s sales nudged up by 2.9%, Iceland’s by 9.1%, online-only retailer Ocado’s by 5.6%, and symbols/independents up by 1.2%.
