Grocery price inflation fell slightly to 6.8% in January, down from 6.9% in December 2023, according to data and analytics company Kantar. This softer decline compares with a 2.2 percentage point decrease seen between November and December 2023. Meanwhile, take-home grocery sales grew in value by 2.9% over the four weeks.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “All eyes are back on inflation again, after the Consumer Prices Index’s (CPI) unexpected jump earlier in the month. There’s been a lot of speculation about the impact the Red Sea shipping crisis might have on the cost of goods, but the story in the grocery aisles this January is more about the battle between the supermarkets to offer best value, rather than geopolitics. Retailers have taken their foot off the promotions gas slightly as we’ve come into the new year, and that’s meant inflation hasn’t fallen as quickly.”
Both Sainsbury’s and Tesco gained market share over the latest 12 weeks to 21 January 2024 compared with a year ago. Sainsbury’s increased sales by 8.1% to take 15.7% of the market, 0.3 percentage points higher than last year, while the UK’s largest retailer Tesco grew by 6.3% and now has a share of 27.6%, up from 27.5%.
Lidl was the fastest growing grocer in Britain for the fifth month in row and the only retailer to see double-digit growth in the latest 12 weeks. Spending at the discounter was up by 11.9%, bringing its share of the market to 7.5%. Aldi also grew ahead of the market, with sales up by 7.2%, and increased its share by 0.1 percentage points to 9.3%.
Sales at Morrisons rose by 2.8%, with the Bradford-based grocer now holding an 8.8% share. Asda’s share is at 13.7%, with sales rising by 2.1% compared to a year ago.
Waitrose increased sales by 3.5% and holds 4.6% of the market, while Co-op accounts for 5.3%, growing sales by 1.8%. Iceland saw growth of 2.3%, giving the frozen food specialist a 2.4% share.
Online sales rose by 6.3% in the latest 12 weeks, slightly ahead of Ocado’s growth where spending was 4.0% higher than last year. The online-only retailer has a 1.7% share of the total market.