Aldi Moves Ahead Of Asda

On the same day that Asda suggested that it was on the road to recovery, new figures show it has been overtaken by Aldi in market share terms across certain categories.

According to Kantar data published by trade magazine The Grocer, Aldi’s grocery market share was 9.8% over the four weeks to 18 May, compared with Asda’s 9.4%.

The figures include the food & drink, household, and healthy & beauty categories and are different from the widely covered numbers that the research group makes publicly available each month. They relate to all expenditure through store tills, with latest figures putting Asda ahead on 12.1% compared to Aldi’s 11.1%

The data seen by The Grocer is usually only shared by Kantar with the supermarkets. Over the longer 12 week period to 18 May, Aldi and Asda were neck-and-neck on 9.8%. Aldi’s grocery sales rose 8.2% year-on-year during the period, while Asda’s fell 6.7%.

Looking at just food and drink (excl. alcohol, household, toiletries and healthcare), Aldi is significantly ahead of Asda, with a share of 10.8% over the 12 weeks versus 10%.

Speaking to The Grocer, Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK & Ireland, said: “In the latest data we have taken third spot. That’s not an objective for us. We don’t benchmark on placement in the market. But it’s an interesting output of our growth and it’s exciting. Seven in every 10 households shop with us.”

An Asda spokesperson commented: “The data upon which these claims are based is highly selective and does not capture Asda’s strong performance across George, Asda Express and Fuel, which remain a key point of difference to the limited-range discounters.”

NamNews Implications:

• By whatever cut, the impact is perceptible to both Aldi and Asda.
•  i.e. affects morale…
• …that eventually seeps into the aisle.
• Watch this space…

Strong Period For Discounters Amid Rising Grocery Price Inflation; Signs Of Improvement At Asda

Latest figures from Kantar show take-home grocery sales grew by 4.4% over the four weeks to 18th May, with more shoppers heading to the discounters and buying own label goods as inflation in the sector reached its highest level since February 2024.

Grocery price inflation now stands at 4.1%, compared to 3.8% the previous month, amid rising cost pressures for retailers and manufacturers linked to increased Employer National Insurance contributions and National Living Wage.

“This latest jump in grocery price inflation takes us into new territory for 2025,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.

“Households have been adapting their buying habits to manage budgets for some time, but we typically see changes in behaviour once inflation tips beyond the 3% to 4% point, as people notice the impact on their wallets more. Own label lines are ones to watch, with premium own label, in particular, being the fastest growing part of the market since September 2023.”

Squeezed consumers are also continuing to seek out promotions, with McKevitt commenting: “The growth of spending on deals has carried on this month, increasing by 5.1% versus May last year. Trimming prices remains the most popular way for retailers to draw in customers, with 80% of promotional spending this period down to straightforward price cuts.”

Looking at the performance of individual retailers, Ocado marked a full year as the UK’s fastest-growing grocer, with its sales climbing 14.9% over the 12 weeks to 18 May.

It was also a good period for the discounters, which achieved their strongest combined growth since January 2024 at 8.4%. Lidl reached a new share high of 8.1% after seeing its sales grow 10.9%. Compared with the same period last year, it attracted 419,000 extra shoppers through its doors – the most of any retailer. Aldi’s hold of the market reached a record high at 11.1%, with sales up by 6.7% – its fastest growth rate since the start of last year.

Tesco’s sales rose by 5.9%, driving its market share up 0.4 percentage points to 28.0%. Sales at Sainsbury’s accelerated by 4.7%, giving it a 15.1% share. Sales at Morrisons nudged up 1.1%, but its share slipped to 8.4%.

Meanwhile, Asda saw its best performance since May 2024 as it continued with its Rollback campaign. Its sales still slipped 3.2%, but this was an improvement on the 5%-plus declines recorded over much of the last year.

Despite grappling with a major cyber attack on its systems, spending on groceries at M&S rose by 12.3%.

NamNews Implications:

• The discounter opportunity leaps out (or should!).
• i.e. See yesterday’s Lidl-Schwarz piece in NamNews
• NB. In 2023, Aldi achieved a global turnover of €112bn and Schwarz (owner of Lidl) saw its sales hit €175bn last year…
• …compared to Tesco’s global sales of €78bn.
• i.e. The discounters have the option of subsidising share growth at local level…
• Meanwhile, with inflation at 4.1% (and consumer-in-street perception of ‘real’ ‘pound-in-pocket’ inflation even greater)…
• …there are short-term moves into own label and discounters for value by cash-strapped consumers….
• …where they find the compromises they were led to expect by brands and mults advertising was not as great in practice…
• …may become set in place and increasingly expensive to reverse.
• Especially as packaging taxes have yet to emerge and impact inflation levels, inevitably…

Spending On Promotions In Supermarkets Hits Highest Level This Year

Latest Kantar: Take-home UK grocers sales up 6.5% (4 weeks to 20 April) - Easter later + uptick in promotions.

Sales rise because of 3.8% grocery price inflation vs recent low of 1.4%, Oct 2024.

Easter eggs spending up 11% vs 2024. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar: “Chocolate confectionery prices rose by 17.4% this period, the fastest of any category, but that didn’t stop the British public treating themselves this Easter. The volume of chocolate eggs sold through supermarket tills still grew by 0.4% on last year, while at the dinner table, lamb was the most popular fresh meat joint, followed by beef and pork.”

Spending on promotion reached 29.7%, its highest level this year.

“The grocers have been sharpening their pricing strategies to stay competitive in the fight for footfall."

Price cuts were the main driver of promotional growth. Often linked to loyalty cards, spending on these deals up £347m. (Tesco and Sainsbury’s nearly 20% of items sold on price match, in 2/3 of baskets.)

“However, not just re price perceptions. Shoppers want quality too, particularly on special occasions, and we can track that, for example, in the rapid growth of premium own label in the latest four weeks at 23.2%.

"Retailers need to be seen to be offering great value, but it’s a fine tightrope to walk, particularly as they manage their own business costs.”

Lidl had fastest rise in footfall (12 weeks to 20 April) shoppers visits average of 8.8 times resulting in sales up 10.1%, to a 8.0% market share.

Aldi’s above-the-market sales growth of 5.9%, an 11.0% share.

Ocado was the fastest-growing retailer – held continuously for nearly a year – after its sales grew by 11.8%.

Spending on groceries at M&S grew by 14.4%.

Tesco’s sales increased by 6.0%, lifting its market share to 27.8%, while sales at Sainsbury’s rose by 4.4%.

Meanwhile, early signs that Asda’s price rollback campaign might be having an impact on its performance. Its sales still fell by 3.8%, but this is an improvement on the declines of over 5% reported in recent months.

NamNews Implications:

• Key standout has to be that Asda is the only retailer showing a fall in 12-week YOY sales…
• …indicating the scale of the challenge facing the retailer.
• A key problem is the quality of rivals by comparison…
• …along with the discounters now powering ahead amidst continuing market uncertainty.
• And a return to higher inflation, certain for further increases when additional taxes are fully reflected in the stats.
• The heavy investment in price cuts by rivals will add further pressure on Asda.
• Meanwhile, the rapid growth in premium own label poses a continuing challenge for the size of brand premia.
• Meaning consumers are less willing to accept ‘excess’ prices for brands vs their own label equivalents…

Aldi Surpasses Asda in Food And Drink Sales Amidst Turnaround Challenges

Asda’s turnaround has suffered a blow after new figures show that Aldi has overtaken the struggling supermarket in terms of food and drink sales.

Kantar data seen by The Telegraph shows Aldi accounted for 10.6% of food and drink sales across all supermarkets in the 12 weeks to 23 March – beating Asda’s market share, which slipped from 10.5% to 10.4%. Aldi had a 10.1% market share in the previous period, with its gains in recent weeks driven by higher sales of fresh poultry, fish, eggs and fruit.

The figures, which the newspaper said are distributed privately to supermarkets, do not include sales of alcohol, toiletries, household goods, and beauty items. Including these, Asda is still the third-largest grocer, with a share of 12.5%. However, this is down from the 14.8% share it held when it was acquired by TDR Capital and the Issa brothers in 2021.

Meanwhile, supported by its store expansion programme, Aldi has continued to make gains, with its overall share recently hitting 11.0% for the first time after growing at its fastest rate in over a year.

Aldi overtook Morrisons as the fourth-largest grocer in September 2022. In the unpublished figures from Kantar, The Telegraph noted that Morrisons had slipped further down the rankings on food and drink sales. It sold less food and drink than Lidl in the period, with the fast-growing discounter holding a 7.7% share compared to Morrisons’ 7.6%.

In March, Asda’s Allan Leighton: .. Asda prepared to take a significant hit to its profit to finance a shift to a new low ‘Asda Price’ by the end of 2026 in a bid to recover lost market share. Shares in Tesco, Sainsbury’s and M&S tumbled on fears of a major supermarket price war.

Leighton said Asda had a lot of ground to make up, i.e. turnaround efforts would take years.

Re share share data, an Asda spokesperson said the Kantar data was “highly selective and does not include key grocery categories such as alcoholic drinks, pet food, laundry, household products and toiletries”.

“We have a clear plan to deliver outstanding value for our customers, and since relaunching Rollback at the end of January, we have reduced prices on a third of our entire range.

“This focus on lowering prices for hard-working families is reflected in the latest and most widely followed Kantar data, as Asda inflated behind the discounters and clearly maintained its position as the third-largest supermarket in the UK.”

NamNews Implications:

• Aldi achieving a No.3 position in any part of the UK trade is a pivotal moment.
• And doing so in food & drinks makes it top-of-mind.
• These food & drinks stats present a dilemma for Asda:
• Fight it out with the discounters on food & drink.
• Or do battle where Asda are ahead: alcohol, toiletries, household goods, and beauty items. Morrisons’ slippage will not go unnoticed either…
• As always, suppliers will have to take a stance re where these changes are heading…
• …and adjust their trade strategies accordingly.