// Overall grocery sales increased 10.8% over the past 12 weeks to September 6
// However, it slowed to 8% in August as the Eat Out to Help Out scheme came into force
// Morrisons was the winner among the Big 4, with sales rising 12.9%, while Ocado sales surged 41.2%
Grocery sales growth slowed in August as shoppers spent £155 million less in supermarkets amid the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, according to new figures.
The latest grocery market share figures from Kantar revealed that grocery sales increased by 10.8 per cent over the past 12 weeks to September 6, but saw growth slow to eight per cent in August.
“Grocery growth tailed off in August as the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme got under way and people were encouraged to return to offices and resume normal routines,” Kantar head of retail Fraser McKevitt said.
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- Retail sales return to pre-pandemic levels, except for high street fashion (ONS)
“Diners’ confidence built throughout the month and footfall increased during each week of the scheme, culminating in the final bank holiday Monday when dining out accounted for a two-and-a-half-times greater share of consumer spend than the pre-Covid average.”
The new figures also revealed that Morrisons, the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket chain by market share, was one of the strongest performers over the past three months, as sales jumped by 12.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, Tesco reported 10.5 per cent growth with rivals Sainsbury’s and Asda seeing sales increase by eight per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.
The Co-op and Iceland were also particularly strong performers, as their sales grew by 13.4 per cent and 20.8 per cent respectively over the quarter.
Ocado, which launched its new partnership with M&S at the start of the month, saw sales surge 41.2 per cent year-on-year as demand for online shopping continued to soar.
Waitrose, the former partner of the Ocado, saw sales rise by 7.3 per cent as it was buoyed by the rapid growth of its Waitrose.com online offering.
Total online grocery sales skyrocketed by 77 per cent year-on-year for August, bringing the cumulative increase in orders to £3.2 billion since lockdown began, Kantar said.
“While online grocery growth is still impressive, it has slowed for the second month in a row and dropped back to 12.5 per cent of total sales this month from a peak of 13.5 per cent,” McKevitt said.
“This is not just about people going out to eat in restaurants, August also brought shielding to an end for many vulnerable and at-risk people.”
with PA Wires
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