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Inflation ups weekly food and drink spend by £21 per week
Shoppers are forking out on average over £21 more a week for food and drink according to the latest data from Kantar Worldpanel, as retailers own-label ranges continues to see growth.
Value sales at the multiple grocers were up 1.4% in the 12 weeks to 26 March compared to last year’s figure, although because Easter falls later this year, outside the 12-week period, there was slower growth during the quarter, Kantar pointed out.
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Rising inflation made the price of everyday items on average 2.3% higher than last year, and Head of Retail and Consumer Insight Fraser McKevitt said inflation showed “no sign of abating” but was expected to accelerate, prompting consumers to look for cheaper alternatives.
Meanwhile, promotional activity was 5.5 percentage points lower than the same period last year, at 32.9% of all spend, he noted.
“As a result, offers are becoming a less significant option for shoppers looking to save money,” McKevitt explained, adding that own label lines could be among the main beneficiaries of inflationary pressure. These were already taking market share from their branded rivals, up nearly 5% during the past 12 weeks.
Lidl and Aldi recorded a record share of the market, accounting for a combined share of 11.7%, with sales growth of 15% and 14.9% respectively. “An on-going programme of store openings by both retailers meant that the two together attracted an additional 1.1 million shoppers over the past three months,” McKevitt added.
The Co-op and Waitrose saw positive growth on the back of their premium own label offer, with sales up 0.8%, its 23rd consecutive period of growth, while Waitrose continued its upward trajectory, having been in growth since March 2009, taking its market share to 5.1%.
Iceland also posted its strongest growth in four years, up 9.8%, on the back of an increased non-frozen offer.
But of the big four, only Morrison posted sales growth, up 0.3% in the 12 weeks, although its market share still slipped to 10.4%. Tesco’s sales fell 0.4%, with Asda down 1.8% and Sainsbury’s down 0.7%.