Discount retailers account for 5.9 per cent of grocery spend in the UK – their highest figure reported to date – and are the fastest-growing sector of the market.

The latest TNS Worldpanel grocery market share figures indicate that Aldi and Lidl’s year-on-year growth stood at 20 per cent and 14 per cent respectively, reflecting their success in attracting more spend from hard-pressed shoppers.

Discounters have hit a record high in the UK, although their success is modest compared with the share they enjoy on the continent, where they have 11 per cent in France and 38 per cent in Germany.

TNS also reported that the grocery market as a whole continues to grow (up 7 per cent year on year) and attributed this strong movement to food price inflation and better performance for supermarkets rather than other retail outlets.

Asda and Morrisons both enjoyed 9 per cent growth and are yielding higher shares than last year. Tesco and Sainsbury’s growth is less significant, at 7 per cent and 6 per cent respectively. However, TNS states that such growth is “still creditable, but slightly behind the overall market, resulting in small share erosion”.

The report comes as grocery price inflation increased to 5.8 per cent for the 12 weeks to June 5, with the price of dry pasta rising by an astonishing 40 per cent and eggs by 34 per cent.

Topics