13January 2015
Christmas sales a welcome boost for retailers
The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, published today for the 12 weeks ending 4January 2015, show that increased consumer spending over Christmas helped the grocery market grow at its fastest rate since August 2014.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “Shoppers chose to buy a little bit more this Christmas compared with last year, a trend which has pushed sales growth up to 0.6%. This is low in historical terms, but a rally for the supermarkets compared with recent months.
“Shoppers were the big winners at Christmas with cheaper grocery prices encouraging them to spend more at the tills. Like-for-like prices have fallen by 0.9% due to lower commodity costs and an ongoing price war which has continued as the large retailers battle for market share.”
Competition between the grocers has been fierce and there is now a gap of just 0.5% sales growth separating the four largest retailers. Such a tightly fought race is unprecedented in records dating back to 1994.
Fraser McKevitt continues: “Sales at Sainsbury’s fell by 0.7% over the latest period, but in a tough market this was the best performance among the big four supermarkets. Sainsbury’s traditionally performs well at Christmas, and its seasonal boost this year means it is now Britain’s second largest grocer for the first time since it lost the position in 2003. Given the seasonal nature of this share increase there is a high likelihood that Asda will retake the number two spot later in the year.”
Tesco’s sales fell 1.2% compared with last year, but this is their best performance since March 2014 and represents a notable improvement. Although revenue declines are slowing, Tesco continues to lose market share, down to 29.1% from 29.6% a year ago. Sales fell by 1.6% at both Asda and Morrisons.
While the bigger supermarkets have continued to find the market tough, Aldi and Lidl have grown by 22.6% and 15.1% to finish the year with market shares of 4.8% and 3.5% respectively. More than half of all British households visited at least one of the two retailers over the past 12 weeks. Waitrose also maintained its strong run as sales rose 6.6% to take its market share to 5.1%.
Ends
An update on inflation
Grocery inflation has seen its 16th successive fall and now stands at -0.9%* for the 12 week period ending 4January 2015. This means shoppers are now paying less for a representative basket of groceries than they did a year ago. This is another record low since Kantar Worldpanel began recording GPI in October 2006 and reflects the impact of Aldi and Lidl and the market’s competitive response, as well as deflation in some major categories including vegetables, eggs, milk and bread.
*This figure is based on over 75,000 identical products compared year-on-year in the proportions purchased by shoppers and therefore represents the most authoritative figure currently available. It is a ‘pure’ inflation measure in that shopping behaviour is held constant between the two comparison periods – shoppers are likely to achieve a lower personal inflation rate if they trade down or seek out more offers.
Follow us on Twitter at and join the debate #kwpmarketshare.
Kantar Worldpanel supermarket share app
Kantar Worldpanel’s supermarket share app has been relaunched. The app has been optimised for iPad, iPhone and Android and includes data and intelligence from Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and Portugal.Download now on iTunes and Google play.
Notes to editors
Please note that four week ending or six week ending retailer share data should not be used in media reporting. We would recommend that you use the 12 week ending data stated in this release, as it covers a longer time period which means it is a superior indicator of retailer performances and trends.
For all publicly-quoted Worldpanel data, users of our research (including media) must ensure that data is sourced Kantar Worldpanel.
These findings are based on Kantar Worldpanel data for the 12 weeks to 4January 2015. Kantar Worldpanel monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 30,000 demographically representative households in Great Britain. All data discussed in the above announcement is based on the value of items being bought by these consumers, Kantar Worldpanel will only support data that is published in the context we have presented it and our own interpretation of these findings. We cannot be held responsible for any other interpretation of these findings.
For further information, please contact:
Peter Rogers/Laura Pattie
Camargue
+44 (0)20 7636 7366
/
About Kantar Worldpanel
Kantar Worldpanel is the world leader in consumer knowledge and insights based on continuous consumer panels. Its High Definition Inspiration™ approach combines market monitoring, advanced analytics and tailored market research solutions that inspire successful actions by its clients.
Kantar Worldpanel’s expertise about what people buy or use – and why – is recognised by brand owners, retailers, market analysts and government organisations globally.
With over 60 years’ experience, a team of 3,500, and services covering 60 countries directly or through partners, Kantar Worldpanel helps brands grow in fields as diverse as FMCG, impulse products, fashion, baby, telecommunications and entertainment, among many others.
For further information, please visit us at
Twitter:Google+:LinkedIn:RSS:Newsletter:
About Kantar
Kantar is the data investment management division of WPP and one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups. By connecting the diverse talents of its 12 specialist companies, the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and inspirational insights for the global business community. Its 27,000 employees work across 100 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at every point of the consumer cycle. The group’s services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies.
For further information, please visit us at
Twitter: Facebook: Google +: LinkedIn