Smaller retailers perform best in a “slow growing” market

Continued growth for Aldi and Lidl and a 3% increase in sales for Waitrose are the highlights of a “slow growing” grocery market according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel.

During the 12 weeks to July 19, 2015, Aldi sales grew by 16.6% while Lidl had an 11.3% increase, taking their market share to 5.6% and 4.0% respectively.

Morrisons was the best performer among the ‘big four’ retailers, despite a step back in sales by 0.1%, still better than Tesco’s 0.6% decline and Asda’s 2.7% sales fall.

Overall sales have increased by 0.8% compared with a year ago, with stronger growth being enjoyed by the smaller retailers.

“The continued slow growth of the overall market can be explained by minimal volume growth and lower like-for-like prices, both as a result of cheaper commodity prices and the fierce competition between supermarkets,” said Kantar’s head of consumer and retail insight Fraser McKevitt (pictured above).

“Comparable groceries are now 1.6% cheaper than a year ago, meaning prices have been falling since September 2014, although they are projected to start rising again by early 2016.”