Asda’s market share has plunged by almost 1 percentage point in the past year, from 13.7% to 12.8% as sales continued to fall over the last 12 weeks.
In the 12 weeks to 9 June, Asda sales fell 4% according to fresh data from Kantar as the gap between it and Aldi, which overtook Morrisons to become the UK’s fourth-largest grocery chain back in 2022, continues to shrink.
Aldi’s revenue edged up 0.8% to take its market share to 10.0%.
Lidl also strengthened its hold of the market by 0.4 percentage points to 8.1% as its sales also grew 8.1% over the period. The discounter now has Morrisons in its sights, with the Bradford-based grocer’s share standing at 8.7%.
Meanwhile, data showed that Tesco achieved its highest market since February 2022, growing 0.6 percentage points to 27.7%. In its first quarter results last week, the grocery giant saw its food sales rise by 5.0%, with strong volume growth across the quarter, particularly in fresh food.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
Kantar data also showed that Ocado retained its title as the fastest-growing grocer for the fourth month in a row, with sales rising by 10.7% over the 12 weeks period to 9 June.
This was ahead of the total online market, which only saw sales rise by 4.0%.
Nearly a quarter of British households did their grocery shopping online in the last three months, with over 4% choosing to use Ocado. The online-only retailer now accounts for 1.8% of the market, up 0.1 percentage points from last year.
Meahile, take-home grocery sales across the industry rose by just 1.0% over the four weeks to 9 June 2024, marking the slowest increase in two years as poor weather and falling inflation hit the sector.
Growth in footfall also stalled, with the average shopper visiting a supermarket 16.3 times this month – down from 16.4 in June last year.
Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said: “The sixth wettest spring on record hasn’t just dampened our spirits leading into summer, it’s made a mark on the grocery sector too as it seems Britons are being put off from popping to the shops.”
However, he said that the 2024 Euros would provide a boost to the sector over the next month.
“The grocers are looking to entice in consumers enjoying this year’s tournament, with the proportion of beer and lager sales on promotion leaping up to over 40% in the latest four weeks, he said.
“Retailers will be competing with fans heading out of the house to watch the football as well as with each other. Pubs especially could benefit from a boost – whether or not football comes home. Throughout the last tournament held in 2021, sales of food and non-alcoholic drinks in pubs soared by 60% compared with the average month that year.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
