The Kantar data for April provides the most up to date
snapshot of UK grocery inflation.
Official UK data published last week showed overall consumer
price inflation fell to 10.1% in March. However, prices of food
and non-alcoholic drinks were 19.1% higher in March than a year
earlier, the biggest such rise since August 1977.
The British Retail Consortium, which represents the major
supermarket groups, has said it expects consumer food prices to
start coming down over the next few months, while the Bank of
England has forecast overall inflation will drop to below 4% by
the end of the year.
Kantar said UK grocery sales rose 8.1% over the four week
period year-on-year.
It said Britons were continuing to turn to supermarkets' own
label lines, which are usually cheaper than branded products, to
help manage spending.
Own-label sales were up 13.5% year-on-year with the very
cheapest value own-label lines up 46%, while branded sales were
up 4.4%.
Discounters Aldi and Lidl both hit record market shares over
the 12 weeks to April 16, at 10.1% and 7.6% respectively.
Lidl was the fastest growing grocer with sales up 25.1%,
while Aldi's rose 25.0%.
“Consumers are continuing to shop around, visiting at least
three major retailers every month on average. The discounters
have been big beneficiaries of this," added McKevitt.
UK grocers' market share and sales growth (%)
Market share Market share % change in
12 wks to 12 wks to sales
April 16 April 17 (yr-on-yr)
2023 2022
Tesco 27.0 27.3 8.0
Sainsbury's 14.9 15.0 8.7
Asda 14.0 14.1 8.8
Aldi 10.1 8.8 25.0
Morrisons 8.7 9.5 0.1
Lidl 7.6 6.6 25.1
Co-operative 5.7 6.0 2.7
Waitrose 4.5 4.8 3.2
Iceland 2.2 2.2 9.4
Ocado 1.7 1.8 8.7
Source: Kantar
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
By James Davey
LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - British grocery inflation
edged lower in April but remained near record highs, industry
data showed on Tuesday, providing little relief for consumers
being hammered by a cost-of-living crisis.
Market researcher Kantar said grocery inflation was 17.3% in
the four weeks to April 16, down from the record 17.5% in its
March data set.
It said April saw a tenth month in a row of double digit
grocery price inflation, with prices rising fastest in markets
such as eggs, milk and cheese.
“The latest drop in grocery price inflation will be welcome
news for shoppers but it’s too early to call the top," Fraser
McKevitt, Kantar's head of retail and consumer insight, said.
"We’ve been here before when the rate fell at the end of
2022, only for it to rise again over the first quarter of this
year," he said.
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