‘Big four’ under increasing pressure in the UK

Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have all lost market share according to the latest Kantar Worldpanel figures in the UK, with Sainsbury's being the only one out of the 'big four' that has recorded growth

The combined growth of Lidl, Aldi and Waitrose is forcing the UK's 'big four' to compete for an ever-smaller middle ground

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The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, published today for the 12 weeks ending 15 September 2013, show the big four supermarkets under pressure as price becomes less of a differentiator for shoppers and the budget and premium ends of the market continue to grow.

Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: "The discounters have continued to perform strongly with year-on-year sales growth of 32.7% for Aldi, another all-time record, and 14.3% for Lidl. At the same time there is no sign of Waitrose running out of steam as it delivers growth of 9.7%.

"Strong performances by retailers at both ends of the market pose a significant challenge for the big four supermarkets. The combined growth of Lidl, Aldi and Waitrose has taken three market share points out of the grocery market over the past three years and is forcing the major supermarkets to compete for an ever-smaller middle ground.

"Price match promotions such as Asda’s ‘Price Guarantee’, Sainsbury’s ‘Brand Match’ and Tesco’s ‘Price Promise’ have meant that price is less of a differentiator and shoppers cannot be convinced to switch outlets based on cost alone. There has been a renewed focus on providing high-quality own-label products and this strategy seems to be paying dividends. The upmarket ranges of Tesco Finest and Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference have both registered double digit growth as shoppers respond to the premium offer."

No doubt Tesco is hoping to increase the growth of its Finest range even further through its recently unveiled sponsorship of the popular ITV period drama, Downtown Abbey.  

However Kantar’s latest figures show Sainsbury’s is the only ‘big four’ grocer to increase its market share over the past year, growing from 16.4% to 16.6% and recording market-beating growth of 5.1%. The other big retailers have all lost market share over the past year, although Asda is ahead of Tesco and Morrisons in terms of its year-on-year sales growth which stands at 2.4%.

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