Aldi market share breaks new barrier as grocers ramp up promotions

Aldi’s achievement was revealed in the latest Kantar data and came as the retailer marked the 35th anniversary of its launch in the UK. 

Kantar reported that take-home grocery sales were up 1.8% year on year in the four weeks to March 23 – the slowest rate since June last year. Grocery price inflation advanced to 3.5%.

In the 12 weeks to the same date, overall grcoery sales rose 3.2%. All the big grocers achieved sales growth with the exception of Asda, which was down 5.6%. 

Spending on promotions reached the highest level for four years in March accounting 28.2% of all grocery sales, £2.6bn of which was a result of price cuts.

Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said: “With prices continuing to rise, supermarkets are mindful of the need to invest to attract shoppers through their doors.

”Despite the recent surge, we’re still some way off the promotional records hit in the wake of the financial crisis. Average spending on deals in 2012 was 39.8%, meaning there could still be more headroom to go. However, the market has changed a lot in that time, with the discounters holding a far higher share today than they did 13 years ago.”