The latest TNS Worldpanel grocery market share figures published today for the 12 weeks to July 12, show Morrisons pulling ahead of the pack, with the fastest year-on-year growth in the period and its 22nd successive period of market-share growth.
According to TNS there is continued resilience in the grocery sector, with year-on-year market growth of 5.9 per cent. The headline growth rate has slowed slightly versus the previous 12 weeks, but this is partly due to Easter phasing. Seasonal grocery markets have performed particularly strongly in the good, early-July weather.
Morrisons has once again delivered the fastest year-on-year growth this period, increasing sales by 9.5 per cent with market share rising 0.4 percentage points to 11.6 per cent. The combination of a strong price-crunch message and the focus on fresh food has boosted this performance by the Bradford-based retailer.
Fellow Yorkshire retailer Asda has recorded growth of 8.1 per cent and Sainsbury’s growth of 7.7 per cent means they both gain 0.3 percentage points share versus last year, up to 17 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. Tesco growth over the same period was 5.7 per cent, narrowly behind that of the overall sector, and share is virtually unchanged versus a year ago at 30.8 per cent.
Waitrose has posted another strong growth figure of 8.2 per cent, second only to Morrisons among the mainstream retailers. Recent store openings of former Somerfield sites have contributed to this performance. The highly publicised Essentials range and increased focus on promotions and value have clearly resonated with shoppers in a time of recession.
In a continuation from last period, the growth of the discounters has again slowed slightly, although Aldi and Lidl remain ahead of the sector average.
Somerfield’s year-on-year decline continues to accelerate -19.1 per cent due to the store divestments necessitated by the Competition Commission following their acquisition by The Co-operative.
Meanwhile, grocery price inflation has further decreased since last month and the figure for the 12 week-ending period July 12 2009 is 5.9 per cent, a fall of 3.2 percentage points since March. The TNS figure is based on more than 75,000 identical products compared year on year in the proportions purchased by British shoppers. TNS considers it a pure inflation measure in that shopping behaviour is held constant between the two comparison periods. However, the analyst points out that shoppers are likely to achieve a lower personal inflation rate as they trade down or seek out more offers.
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