It’s been a good few months for the cheaper stores, with Aldi and Lidl recording an extra 14 million shoppers compared to last year and Asda growing fastest of the big four.
New figures, from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks to 4 November, reveal the increase in popularity of the discounters. “Five years ago, just under half of British households were visiting one of the discount retailers at least once in a 12-week period,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel. “This now stands at almost two-thirds, which is reflected in their continued growth.
“Aldi’s sales increase of 15.5 per cent this period is the fastest rate since January 2018; this has helped lift its market share by 0.9 percentage points to 7.6 per cent, which is the largest year-on-year share gain by any retailer in nearly four years. Meanwhile, Lidl is in double-digit growth for the second month running; sales are up by 10.2 per cent compared with a year ago and its market share is up 0.4 percentage points to 5.5 per cent.'
Meanwhile sales at Asda increased by 2.6 per cent year on year, meaning the retailer has now been in continual growth since April 2017. A strong online performance was bolstered by increased spend in-store and, despite being a more brand-orientated retailer, sales of both the core Asda lines and its premium Extra Special range grew faster than branded products, according to Kantar.
At a total market level, sales increased by 2.6 per cent, which is slower compared with recent months but still represents a £663m increase in sales through the tills. Much of the growth came through smaller top-up trips, which increased at twice the rate of larger trolley shops.
While a dry summer meant this year’s pumpkin crop produced smaller than usual specimens, that didn’t frighten off shoppers who spent 24 per cent more on the Hallowe’en favourites this October compared with last year – nearly £7 million in total.
