Supermarkets Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl all posted record market shares in the last three months, highlighting an increasing polarisation of the grocery market, data released today has revealed.
While upmarket grocer Waitrose hit it‘s highest ever share of 4.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to April 14th 2013, discount chains Aldi and Lidl reported shares of 3.4 per cent and three per cent respectively.
Aldi grew at its fastest rate over the period while Waitrose reaped the benefits of being unaffected by the horsemeat scandal which impacted rivals and the chain was rated highly for clearly-defined supply chains and provenance by customers.
According to figures from analyst firm Kantar Worldpanel, overall grocery inflation stood at 3.8 per cent over the 12 week period, which the firm said “represents a welcome respite in the pressure on household budgets.”
Across the big four, Sainsbury‘s continues to lead the way, reporting the strongest growth of 5.4 per cent and is the only one among its competitors to increase market share, now at 16.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, Tesco has a current market share of 29.9 per cent, while Asda and Morrisons have a market share of 17.5 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively.
Commenting on the growing two-nations divide, Kantar Worldpanel Director Edward Garner said: “Aldi has set two records in the latest period, with its highest ever growth of 31.1 per cent delivering a record market share of 3.4 per cent.
“Lidl‘s market share of three per cent is also an all-time high for the retailer.
“Pressure on household budgets is undoubtedly driving some of the growth at the discounters, but messages about quality are starting to resonate.
“Lidl announced this week that it will increase its fresh meat and poultry floorspace by 50 per cent within the year, and Aldi‘s new ‘convenience‘ store in Kilburn is a departure from its traditional edge-of-town offering.
“These changes are likely to appeal to a new and different group of shoppers which will bolster the performance of the discounters even further.”
