Grocery sales dip

The latest quarterly grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel show a dip in the growth rate of 1.3% down to 2.6% on 20 March 2011. The grocery price inflation has continued to increase and now stands at 4.0%. This is the first time that the market growth rate has fallen below the inflation rate since July 2009.

“While there are no signs yet of the explosive growth in economy own-label ranges that we saw in 2008, there are now clear indications that value-for-money is driving retailer performance,” says Edward Garner, communications director at Kantar Worldpanel.

“Both Aldi and Lidl continue their double digit growth from last month, with Aldi increasing its share from 2.8% a year ago to 3.1%. While Lidl grew its share from 2.3% to 2.5% in the same period – this is an all-time record for the outlet. Both performances are being driven by existing shoppers spending more, rather than by new shoppers visiting the stores.”

Similarly, Iceland and Farm Foods outperformed the market, posting sales increases of 4.2% and 11.7% respectively. Garner adds, though, “Not all shoppers share the value view. Waitrose continued to perform well, posting a higher market share of 4.3% compared to 4.1% a year ago.” For the top four retailers, only Morrisons marginally increasing its share to 12.2% compared to 12.1% year on year.