Grocery sales growth has slowed sharply in the past month according to the latest market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel.

The growth rate in the 12 weeks to March 20 slipped to 2.6%, compared to 3.9% the previous month. Inflation in the period was 4%, and it was the first time since July 2009 that the market growth rate has fallen below the inflation rate.

Kantar said the figures were a “demonstration that shoppers are taking an increasingly gloomy view of 2011 and reining in their spending.”

The biggest winners over the month were the hard discounters, with Aldi and Lidl both showing double digit growth and Lidl reaching an all-time record market share of 2.5%. Freezer centres Iceland and Farmfoods also outperformed the market, but at the opposite end of the scale, Waitrose also grew its market share.

Of the big four, Morrisons was the only one to grow its share, up marginally to 12.2%. Sainsbury’s was static at 16.3%, while Tesco and Asda were both fractionally down to 30.2% and 17% respectively.

Supermarket share

  12 Weeks to 21 March 2010  12 Weeks to 20 March 2011 change
 £000s%   * £000s %   *%
Total Till Roll  29,802,090   30,504,610 2.4
 Total Grocers       22,197,440100.0%       22,785,540100.0%2.6
   Total Multiples         21,670,59097.6%         22,255,11097.7%2.7
      Tesco             6,717,50430.3%             6,874,63330.2%2.3
      Asda             3,804,48717.1%             3,884,24617.0%2.1
      Sainsbury’s             3,607,66316.3%             3,717,83116.3%3.1
      Morrisons             2,687,72512.1%             2,770,44612.2%3.1
      Co-operative               1,289,3035.8%             1,530,9216.7%18.7
      Somerfield                370,6681.7%                  12,4890.1%-96.6
      Waitrose                917,6594.1%                971,4214.3%5.9
      Iceland                405,6201.8%                422,6481.9%4.2
      Aldi                615,7392.8%                706,6453.1%14.8
      Lidl                506,0032.3%                567,1212.5%12.1
      Netto                154,3270.7%                149,7580.7%-3.0
      Farm Foods                126,1640.6%                140,8880.6%11.7
      Other Multiples                467,7282.1%                506,0622.2%8.2
   Symbols & Independents              526,8512.4%              530,4352.3%0.7

 

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