The latest supermarket share data from Kantar shows positive performances for Aldi and Lidl in fresh produce.
Aldi and Lidl now control 3.2 and 4.1 per cent of fresh produce sales respectively, an overtrade of 0.3 and 1.2 percentage points respectively.
The data shows record market shares of 2.9 per cent for the two discount chains, reflecting positive year-on-year growth of 26.1 per cent for Aldi and 11.5 per cent for Lidl.
The figures, for the 12 weeks ending 8 July 2012, also show the overall grocery market growth rate has fallen to 2.1 per cent, despite standing at 4.2 per cent last year.
Kantar said grocery inflation was 3.8 per cent for the 12 week period, continuing a downward trend from a November 2011 peak of 6.2 per cent and reflecting lower inflation for fresh produce.
Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “We are seeing big cutbacks by consumers as they continue to respond to this current period of austerity.
“The success of the discounters, Aldi and Lidl, is a clear example of shoppers watching their purses, with both retailers continuing to surge ahead.”
Among the big four, fortunes continued unchanged with market share growth for Asda (up 0.5 per cent year-on-year) and Sainsbury's (up 0.1 per cent) and share dips for Tesco (down 0.4 per cent) and Morrisons (down 0.2 per cent).
Kantar believes premium labelled products are on the decline as customers shop around for bargains.
Garner concluded: “Premium own-label products have been in continuous growth since 2008, despite often being more expensive than their brand equivalent. But they are now declining by six per cent year-on-year, while economy own labels such as Tesco’s Everyday Value are growing at 13 per cent.”
