Sainsbury’s was the only big four grocer to keep pace with the market as Asda suffered another sales fall, according to Kantar data.

Sainsbury's

  • Sainsbury’s sales rise 0.9%, but Asda suffers 2.9% fall
  • Tesco and Morrisons sales drop in 12 weeks to September 13
  • Lidl reaches new market share high of 4.2%
  • Co-op, Aldi, Waitrose and Iceland also increase sales

Figures for the 12 weeks to September 13 revealed that Sainsbury’s was the only member of the big four to grow sales, which increased 0.9% during the period. That helped it maintain a market share of 16.2%.

Kantar Worldpanel said the growth was driven by the “continued expansion” of the Sainsbury’s Local c-store business and its Twist your Favourites campaign.

Asda maintained its place as the UK’s second largest grocer, despite sales tumbling 2.9%. Its market share fell from 17.3% to 16.7% on the year.

Big four rival Tesco suffered a 1% fall in sales as its market share dipped from 28.8% to 28.2% on the year. Morrisons’ sales dropped 1.4% during the 12-week period.  

Kantar Worldpanel head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said Morrisons’ market share is “likely to fall further in the coming months” after boss David Potts revealed plans to shut 11 more supermarkets and sell its c-store business.

Total Till Roll - GB Consumer Spend
  12 Weeks to September 14, 2014  12 Weeks to September 13, 2015 % Change in spend
 £millions%   **£millions%   **%
 Total Grocers                 24,500100%                 24,718100%0.9%
   Total Multiples                   23,98597.9%                   24,20697.9%0.9%
      Tesco                      7,04628.8%                      6,97528.2%-1%
      Asda                      4,24817.3%                      4,12316.7%-2.9%
      Sainsbury’s                      3,97116.2%                      4,00716.2%0.9%
      Morrisons                      2,67510.9%                      2,63810.7%-1.4%
      The Co-operative                        1,5706.4%                      1,5856.4%1%
      Waitrose                      1,2415.1%                      1,2775.2%2.9%
      Aldi                      1,1784.8%                      1,3825.6%17.3%
      Lidl                         8923.6%                      1,0344.2%16%
      Iceland                         4721.9%                         4872%3.4%
      Other Multiples                         6922.8%                         6992.8%0.9%
   Symbols & Independents                        5152.1%                        5122.1%-0.7%

Discounter gains

Discounter Lidl’s sales jumped 16% as it hit a new market share high of 4.2%. Aldi’s sales soared 17.3% on the year as it maintained its 5.6% share of the market.

Kantar Worldpanel said 56% of UK households visited an Aldi or Lidl store during the 12 weeks.

Aldi joint managing director for buying Jonathan Neale said:“Increasingly, more families are choosing to do their full shop at Aldi. Our customers know they can rely on Aldi for great quality products at unbeatable prices.

“The increased number of families choosing to do their shopping with Aldi has also helped drive a significant increase in the number of items our customers are buying from us. The latest Kantar data shows that Aldi customers pick up an average of 18 items per visit – the highest figure of any major supermarket.” 

Despite that fierce competition from the German duo, the Co-op remains the fifth largest grocer in the UK ahead of Aldi, after sales edged up 1%.

Iceland and Waitrose also celebrated sales success during the period, they grew 3.4% and 2.9% respectively.

McKevitt added: “With shoppers moving their custom away from the traditional, larger-size supermarket stores, online sales are continuing to boom and are up by 12% compared with a year ago. 

“Almost 7% of grocery sales are currently purchased through the internet and existing online supermarkets will be watching closely to see when Amazon Fresh will launch in the UK and whether it will steal market share or grow the online market even further.”