Latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel show that Aldi's UK arm has a sizeable 10 per cent more shoppers than it did a year ago.
Groceryshare data from the market analyst published for the 12 weeks ending 25November confirm the grocery market is growing at 3.2 per cent and onceagain it is the discounters and Waitrose that are leading the charge.
KantarWorldpanel director Ed Garner said: “The strong performances from Waitrose, Iceland, Aldi and Lidl continue to be a key feature of the grocery market. In particular, the advance of Aldi continues unabated and its 27.3 per cent growth is being built on a solid foundation with 10 per cent more shoppers than a year ago and 17 per cent growth in the value of each shopping basket.”
The analyst pointed out that although this is in line with the average over the past eight months, itis below the 3.5 per cent inflation figure with tight household budgetsmeaning that shoppers are reluctant to trade up and careful not to spend more than strictly necessary.
Aldi has plans to open a further 40 stores next year and so bring its total to more than 500 outlets. Some of these will be smaller high street stores, which should help the retailer compete in the convenience market strengthening its position still more.
Other highlights show that Sainsbury’s is thetop performer among the big four once again and has beaten the market with year-on-year growth of 4.7 per cent. While the other big three retailers all experience share losses, it has managed to lift its share from 16.7 per cent last year to 16.9 per cent.
Garner said: “Theseshare losses are particularly acute for Morrisons which has experienceda sales decline of 1.1 per cent, bringing its share down from 12.3 per cent a year ago to 11.7 per cent now. The online grocery channel is growing at nearly 20 per cent a year and Morrisons’ absence from this channel will be holding it back. However, it is expected that online wine sales via Morrisons Cellar will make a start on addressing this.”
