Asda and Morrisons jostle for sales growth position

The supermarket has a 17.5 per cent share of the market over the 12 weeks to March 22, compared with 17.1 per cent this time last year. Its year-on-year growth rate is 8.5 per cent. Morrisons took a 11.8 per cent share of the market with growth up 7.2 per cent.

Sainsbury’s growth was in line with the sector as a whole at 5.7 per cent, at a market share of 16.1 per cent.

Tesco’s growth rate fell behind the sector at 4.3 per cent. The grocer has a market share of 30.4 per cent, down from 30.8 per cent last year.

The discounters Aldi, Lidl and Netto benefitted from a collective 5.9 per cent share versus 5.5 per cent last year.

The entire sector reported a growth rate of 5.8 per cent. The rate is lower than that recorded in February but is against strong comparatives from 2008 when March included Easter.

The growth remains below grocery price inflation of 9.3 per cent over the 12 week period.

Meanwhile, data from rival research group Nielsen said that Morrisons reported the highest year-on-year sales growth of the big four supermarkets in the first quarter of 2009.

Asda was a close second, notching up a 6.7 per cent increase in sales growth year-on-year for the 12 weeks to March 21.

Tesco lost market share which almost half a percentage point drop to 27.6 per cent for the quarter. Asda and Morrisons both picked up 0.2 percentage points market share.