In the UK retail top ten, Lidl has reached the seventh place overtaking Waitrose. According to Kantar Worldpanel, in mid-August the German discounter’s quarterly market share rose up to 5.2% whereas Waitrose stopped at 5.1%. Aldi (with a market share of 7%) and Lidl managed to intercept Waitrose’s customers thanks to a high-end products range at lower prices.
The top ten
Below, we can see the UK’s top ten retailers in descending order: Tesco (with a market share of 27.8%), Sainsbury’s (15.8%), Asda (15.3%), Morrisons (10.4%), Aldi (7%), Co-op (6.3%), Lidl (5.2%), Waitrose (5.1%), Iceland (2.1%), and directly from the world of e-commerce, the new entry Ocado (1.4%). The top four chains’ sales increased for the fifth consecutive period. That’s their most successful collective performance since 2013. Together, they represent a UK food market share of 69.3% – not to forget that it was 76.3% five years ago.
Trends
For the quarter concerned, Tesco’s overall sales grew by 3% but its market share went down to 27.8%. Morrisons’ sales increased by 2.6% with a market share decrease to 10.4%. Sainsbury’s sales increased by 2%, Asda’s ones by 1.4% whereas Waitrose went up to a 5,1% market share with a 2.8% sales growth: a trend which is going on since March 2009. According to Kantar Worldpanel Retail & Consumers Managing Director, Fraser McKevitt Lidl’s sales are growing 40% faster thanks to families’ purchase. Unlike childless couples, families tend to buy more goods at a time when they go shopping. That’s why Lidl’s sales are growing so much. Following Kantar Worldpanel’s survey, in the last quarter ten million families have chosen Lidl for their purchase. Liquor, fruit and vegetables sales are showing a particularly successful trend with an 18.9% growth.
