Sainsbury’s has grown market share and its growth rate has exceeded those of the other top supermarkets in the 12 weeks to April 19.
According to the TNS Worldpanel grocery market share figures the grocery sector as a whole grew 6.2 per cent year-on-year.
Sainsbury’s growth was ahead of the market at 8.1 per cent and it has now increased its market share from 16.1 per cent a year ago to 16.3 per cent. This has been helped by a promotions push, particularly in the run up to Easter.
The advancing discount chains Aldi and Lidl, who have been benefitting from the downturn, continued to achieve double digit growth. Aldi was up 13.6 per cent and Lidl climbed 12.3 per cent. Expansion of the discount sector, however, slowed from the highs of last year.
Waitrose, which had suffered as shoppers looked for cheaper alternatives, returned to growth for the period.
Grocery price inflation stayed high for the period, at 9 per cent, as the weakness of the pound resulted in the importation of grocery price inflation and encouraged exports.
| 12 Weeks to 20 April 2008 | 12 Weeks to 19 April 2009 | change | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £000s | % ** | £000s | % ** | % | |
| Total Till Roll | 28,137,958 | - | 28,940,922 | - | 2.9 |
| Total Grocers | 20,340,643 | 100.0% | 21,602,411 | 100.0% | 6.2 |
| Total Multiples | 18,882,578 | 92.8% | 20,121,423 | 93.1% | 6.6 |
| Tesco | 6,319,208 | 31.1% | 6,610,558 | 30.6% | 4.6 |
| Asda | 3,438,021 | 16.9% | 3,711,709 | 17.2% | 8.0 |
| Sainsbury’s | 3,266,322 | 16.1% | 3,530,582 | 16.3% | 8.1 |
| Morrisons | 2,318,389 | 11.4% | 2,490,783 | 11.5% | 7.4 |
| Somerfield | 744,261 | 3.7% | 719,540 | 3.3% | -3.3 |
| Waitrose | 800,949 | 3.9% | 826,709 | 3.8% | 3.2 |
| Iceland | 348,375 | 1.7% | 379,426 | 1.8% | 8.9 |
| Netto | 148,125 | 0.7% | 151,470 | 0.7% | 2.3 |
| Lidl | 457,544 | 2.2% | 513,845 | 2.4% | 12.3 |
| Aldi | 556,793 | 2.7% | 632,505 | 2.9% | 13.6 |
| Farm Foods | 103,632 | 0.5% | 121,228 | 0.6% | 17.0 |
| Other Freezer Centres | 48,670 | 0.2% | 49,250 | 0.2% | 1.2 |
| Other Multiples | 332,290 | 1.6% | 383,818 | 1.8% | 15.5 |
| The Co-operative | 893,548 | 4.4% | 945,723 | 4.4% | 5.8 |
| Total Independents | 564,516 | 2.8% | 535,264 | 2.5% | -5.2 |
| Total Symbols | 204,994 | 1.0% | 198,753 | 0.9% | -3.0 |
| Other Independents | 359,522 | 1.8% | 336,511 | 1.6% | -6.4 |
| ** = Percentage Share of Total Grocers | |||||
Nielsen publishes grocery sales figures
Separately market researcher Nielsen released its grocery sales figures for the eight weeks to April 18, showing sector growth of 4.2 per cent.
Nielsen senior manager of retailing services Mike Watkins said: “There has been a marked improvement in performances within the convenience sector in the last eight weeks with sales growing at 3.2 per cent year on year. A couple of months ago growths were languishing at around the 1 per cent level.”
Nielsen said that the figures were good news for the sector, even taking into account the distortion acused by the timing of Easter. It said that the good weather had a particularly positive effect on driving shoppers to stores both in and out of town.
| Retailer | 12 weeks to 19 April 2008 | 12 weeks to 19 April 2009 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesco | 28.1 | 27.9 | 4.6 |
| Asda | 15.2 | 15.6 | 7.9 |
| Sainsbury’s | 14.6 | 14.9 | 7.5 |
| Morrisons | 10.4 | 10.6 | 7.4 |
| Co-op | 6.2 | 6.0 | 2.8 |
| Waitrose | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| M&S | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.2 |
| Somerfield | 3.6 | 3.3 | -1.6 |
| Iceland | 1.6 | 1.8 | 15.3 |
| The figures in the table are based on 12 weeks sales through to 18th April 2009 compared with the same 12 week period in 2008. Source: Nielsen Total Till, Nielsen Homescan | |||
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