Sainsbury's increases market share, while Morrisons dips

According to the Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks ending January 23, Sainsbury’s increased its share from 16.3% a year ago to 16.6%/

Tesco and Asda have matched their market growth and held onto share at 30.5% and 16.9% respectively.

Morrisons reported a slight dip for the period from 12.5% to 12.4%. However, it is facing strong year on year comparatives as its 12.5% share in January 2010 was a record performance for Morrisons.

Elsewhere, Kantar said it is also seeing two contrasting sectors of growth, with Waitrose performing well, alongside the hard discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Edward Garner, communications director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “With growth of 7.1%, Waitrose continues to benefit from strong sales at Christmas, boosted by new shoppers this year at both existing and new stores. However, with a group of shoppers tightening their purse strings and seeking value we’re also seeing a counter trend at the other end of the retail scale. Although January is not traditionally a strong period for the discounters, both Aldi and Lidl have posted near 10% growth and lifted the total discounters’ market share from 5.9% last year to 6.1% in the latest period.”

The Co-op lost 0.6% market share in the period as a result of the OFT ordering it to sell off some Somerfield stores. However, as Somerfield has now ceased to exist, going forward the market share of The Co-op will be a more accurate reflection of its performance.

Frozen food retailer has held its growth at 2.1%, reflecting a flat performance.

Grocery inflation stands at 3.1% for the period, largely unchanged for the last six reports. Any movements in food stuffs are being held back by high levels of promotions.