The popularity of German budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl has continued to grow, with latest figures revealing their market share has hit 12 percent in the UK.
According to data from Kantar Worldpanel, sales at Aldi grew by 19.8 percent and at Lidl by 18.3 percent in the 12 weeks to 21 May. Conversely, the UK’s four largest supermarkets, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons, collectively grew by just 1.6 percent.
This means that both Aldi and Lidl are demonstrating their fastest levels of growth in two years, as concerns over price rise and inflation continue to motivate the supermarket choices of shoppers.
Chris Hayward, consumer specialist at Kantar Worldpanel, commented: “Consumers are starting to feel the pinch as prices continue to rise, with the average household spending an additional £27 on groceries during the past 12 weeks.
“That may not seem like much, but if inflation continues at its current rate over the course of a year that would mean an extra £119 spent on groceries per household.
“Overall sales in the supermarket sector grew by 3.8 percent year-on-year to £25.5 billion – the strongest increase since September 2013.”
Inflation has been of particular concern in recent months, with sterling continuing to sharply devalue following the Brexit vote back in June last year.
In response to currency movements and higher importation costs, supermarkets have steadily begun to increase grocery prices, driving consumers to select more purse-friendly alternatives such as Lidl and Aldi.
Back in November, a survey conducted by MyMoneySupermarket and The Guardian revealed that prices had risen as much 5.7 percent since the referendum in supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) and Morrisons (LON:MRW).
The UK’s largest supermarket Tesco (LON:TSCO) is currently awaiting the verdict of an investigation by the UK competition authority into its proposed merger with Booker (LON:BOK) foods.
Should the authority deem it appropriate, Tesco may have to offload several of its supermarket locations to ensure continued choice and competition within the industry.