Despite disrupting shoppers, the Beast from the East did not dent grocery sales enough to stall growth in the first quarter of 2018, Kantar Worldpanel data has shown.
In the 12 weeks to 25 March 2018 grocery sales increased in value by 2.5 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to the analyst.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight, said the storm had played havoc with consumers’ usual shopping plans, but a reduction in sales was partly offset by shoppers stockpiling groceries and buying four per cent more items than normal.
This increased the average value of a trip from £14.99 to £15.80, however shoppers simultaneously visited stores five per cent less often as they stayed warm at home.
Overall lost sales from the storm were minimised to £22 million.
“Warming foods and drinks were the go-to items for customers after braving the snowy weather,” said McKevitt. “Sales of hot beverages and tinned soup grew by 8.4 per cent and 27.5 per cent respectively over the past month.”
An earlier Easter this year compared to 2017 motivated consumers to start shopping earlier to prepare for the weekend, with Easter eggs rolling off the shelf in March and sales up 69 per cent compared to the same time last year.
Aldi and Lidl continued to make their mark with both retailers achieving new market share highs. Aldi increased its market share by 0.5 percentage points to capture a 7.3 per cent share of the market, growing its sales by 10.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, Lidl registered year-on-year sales growth of 10.3 per cent to reach a 5.3 per cent share.
“As the discounters proceed with the expansion of their store portfolios, over the past 12 weeks 63.5 per cent of all households visited at least one of the retailers,” McKevitt said.
Over the past 12 weeks Tesco experienced a sales increase of 2.4 per cent to hold market share steady at 27.6 per cent – the first time it has held share since December 2016.
An additional 262,000 customers walked through its doors, and the supermarket saw sales growth of branded goods overtake own-label groceries for the first time since June 2015.
Morrison’s also saw sales increase by 2.4 per cent with a resulting market share of 10.4 per cent. Growth at the retailer was helped by a strong performance in online sales, with Morrison’s e-commerce offering proving particularly popular among younger, more affluent shoppers.
Despite encouraging shoppers to up the size of their baskets by 2.4 per cent – the fastest increase experienced among the big four – Asda’s market share fell back by 0.2 percentage points to 15.6 per cent.
Sainsbury’s also saw market share drop, down 0.3 percentage points to 15.8 per cent, despite sales growth of 0.6 per cent. The retailer has continued its move away from promotions with only 32.7 per cent of sales made while a product was on offer.
