UK retailer Morrisons lost ground to its bigger rivals Asda and Sainsbury's, Kantar Worldpanel claimed today (11 September) as they issued their latest sales data on the country's grocery sector.
The UK's fourth largest grocer saw its market share drop to 11.5% in the 12 weeks to 2 September, from 11.7% a year earlier, Kantar revealed.
"The pressure on Morrisons continues. However, this is to some extent inevitable, as the retailer presently offers no online ordering and currently only a small number of ‘M Local' convenience outlets - two areas which are currently major contributors to the growth of its three main competitors," said Kantar director Edward Garner.
In contrast, Asda saw its market share rise to 17.6% from 17.4% a year earlier, when excluding its Netto acquisition. Sainsbury's share rose to 16.4% from 16.3% last year.
Kantar said the big winners were outside the "big four", with successes at the two opposite ends of the industry as Waitrose and discounter Aldi held on to record share and growth.
Waitrose, which is owned by the John Lewis Partnership, grew its market share to 4.6% from 4.4% thanks to growth of 7.8% - outperforming the market average of 3.3% growth.
Outside of the big four, however, Aldi remains the "star performer", Kantar said, holding on to its "all-time record share" with growth of 26.6%.
The discount retailer's market share leap to 2.9% from 2.4% a year earlier, with growth driven mainly by "dramatic" growth in spend levels of existing customers - up 36% over the past two years - rather than an increased number of shoppers, Kantar said.
Grocery inflation was 2.9% in the period, continuing the downward trend from the recent peak of 6.2% for November 2011.
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GROCERY MARKET BEATS INFLATION AGAIN
The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, published today for the 12 weeks ending 2 September, show the grocery market growing at 3.3%. This is above the Kantar Worldpanel inflation measure of 2.9%*.
Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: "Despite ongoing pressures, things seem to be looking up in the grocery market and shoppers are not having to trade down to the same extent as they have done over the past year."
Among the big four, Tesco's share has dropped from 30.9% a year ago to 30.8% - a relatively small decline compared with most of 2012 and evidence of some success in its fight-back. Although Asda outperforms the market with growth of 4.5%, this is now easing back as the effect of the Netto acquisition falls out of the year-on-year comparisons.
Edward continues: "Sainsbury's maintains its robust run and beats the market with 3.8% growth. This is part of a longer-term trend which has seen the retailer continue to grow its share for the past nine years. The high-profile Paralympics sponsorship will no doubt provide further support but this won't be fully seen in the figures until next month."
"The pressure on Morrisons continues with its share slipping from 11.7% a year ago to 11.5%. However, this is to some extent inevitable, as the retailer presently offers no online ordering and currently only a small number of ‘M Local' convenience outlets - two areas which are currently major contributors to the growth of its three main competitors.
"Outside of the big four, Aldi continues to be the star performer and holds on to its all-time record share with growth of 26.6%. This is driven mainly by dramatic growth in spend levels of existing customers - up 36% over the past two years - rather than an increased number of shoppers."
At the same time, we continue to see the diverse nature of households and their shopping habits through Waitrose's performance. The retailer holds on to its all-time record share of 4.6% and outperforms the market once again with growth of 7.8%.
An update on inflation Grocery inflation stands at 2.9%* for the 12 week period ending 2 September 2012. This continues the downward trend from the recent peak of 6.2% for November 2011. However, this measure may have bottomed-out with poor grain harvests driving inflationary spikes going forward.
*This figure is based on over 75,000 identical products compared year-on-year in the proportions purchased by British 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.
Original source: Kantar Worldpanel
