Sainsbury’s and Iceland were the only two supermarkets to attract more shoppers through their doors last month as the grocery sector upped promotions to draw in cash-strapped consumers.
Data from Kantar shows that Sainsbury’s continued its trend of growing shopper numbers, while Iceland has seen customer footfall rise for the first time since June 2023.
The market research firm noted that spend on promotional offers at the frozen food specialist increased ahead of the wider market in February, which edged up 4% last month or £586m year on year.
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Tesco and Sainsbury’s both gained market share last month, up 0.3 percentage points to 27.6% and 0.4 percentage points to 15.6%.
Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose also grew their shares by 0.3, 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points respectively, while Asda’s share is down 0.5 percentage points on 13.8%.
“Sainsbury’s and Iceland’s efforts paid off in particular, and they were the only retailers to attract more shoppers through their doors,” Steel said.
He added: “The battle between supermarkets’ own-label lines and brands also remains fierce. Own-label nipped ahead this month, growing sales by 5.5% versus branded products at 5.3%.”
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