M&S has become the seventh-biggest retailer of food and drink products in the UK after overtaking Co-op.
According to unpublished Worldpanel data seen by trade publication The Grocer, M&S’s food and drink market share was 5.1% over the 52 weeks to 13 July, compared with Co-op’s 4.7%. In the previous 52-week period, Co-op had a higher share of 4.9% compared to M&S’s 4.7%.
The report noted that M&S’s food and drink sales have grown by 11.5% year-on-year, while Co-op’s were unchanged.
The Grocer’s report noted that the food and drink market share data, which is distributed privately to retailers, includes sales of fresh, chilled and ambient groceries but not alcohol, household, toiletries or healthcare. It is different to the grocery market share data published monthly by Worldpanel – formerly Kantar – which relates to all expenditure through store tills (excl. petrol and in-store concessions).
The monthly published data also do not include market share figures for M&S, as it falls outside the research group’s definition of a grocer due to its clothing & home business.
Despite a recent cyberattack impacting its operations, M&S has also increased its lead over Waitrose in food and drink sales. The report stated that Waitrose’s share was 4.5% in the 52 weeks to 13 July, meaning M&S’s lead has grown from 0.3 percentage points to 0.6 percentage points over the last year.
Co-op told The Grocer that it regards Worldpanel’s take-home methodology as an incomplete gauge of its performance, arguing it ignores a large chunk of its sales as a convenience retailer.
A Co-op spokesperson is quoted as saying: “We are proud to be the leading UK convenience retailer, not a supermarket, with a market share 12.7%, as reported by Circana, who measure all convenience categories, whilst Kantar [Worldpanel] excludes circa 30% of our sales, including many food and drink categories such as food to go, confectionery and soft drinks.
“We continue to grow ahead of the convenience market and also hold nearly 25% of the UK quick commerce market.”
A Worldpanel spokesperson commented: “We do not publish retailer market share data for select categories. Our grocery market share release provides a full view of grocers’ performance, including all expenditure through store tills except petrol and in-store concessions.”
Earlier this month, the same food and drink data put Lidl ahead of Morrisons for the first time.
NamNews Implications:
- As always, market share ranking, however cut…
- …will have an impact that is psychological and will differ by audience.
- i.e. uplifting for M&S….
- …troubling for Co-op.
- Meanwhile, food & drinks markets are in a state of flux...
- ...wherever you stand.
