Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Supermarket shoppers in the UK ramped up spending on soap products in February amid worries about coronavirus, data showed on Tuesday, with grocery spend rising at its sharpest pace since November and German discounter Lidl the fastest growing chain.
According to researchers Kantar, in the 12 weeks to February 23, grocery spend rose 0.7% to GBP28.71 billion from GBP28.51 billion the year prior. It was the fastest rate of growth since November last year.
Kantar noted that sales of hand sanitisers surged in February, a period which was dominated by news of the spread of coronavirus from China. Sales of household cleaners were up 10% with liquid soaps up 7%.
Grocery inflation stood at 0.9% during the period, Kantar added.
Among the Big Four supermarkets in the UK, J Sainsbury PLC was the only one to book a year-on-year sales rise, returning to growth for the first time since October 2019.
Sales at Sainsbury's were 0.3% higher year-on-year at GBP4.49 billion, though its market share was down by a hair to 15.6% from 15.7%.
Tesco PLC's market share slipped to 27.2% from 27.7% the year prior. Sales were 0.8% lower at GBP7.82 billion.
Elsewhere in the Big Four, Walmart Inc's Asda saw sales fall 1.2% to GBP4.35 billion with its share of the market dipping to 15.1% from 15.4%.
WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC had a 2.0% sales stumble to GBP2.92 billion with market share falling to 10.2% from 10.4%.
Lidl was the fastest growing of all supermarkets in the UK, for the first time since November 2017. Its sales surged 11% to GBP1.66 billion, with market share rising to 5.8% from 5.2%. Lidl's sales were still below that of fellow German discounter Aldi, however.
Aldi's sales rose 5.7% to GBP2.28 billion with its market share climbing to 7.9% from 7.6%.
In Co-operative Group's grocery unit, sales were 2.5% higher annually at GBP1.72 billion, with market share edging slightly higher to 6.0% from 5.9%.
Waitrose sales fell 1.3% to GBP1.45 billion with the John Lewis & Partners unit seeing its market share slip to 5.1% from 5.2%. Waitrose has "ramped up preparations to take full control of its own online distribution" as its partnership with Ocado Group PLC draws to a close, Kantar noted.
At FTSE 100-listed Ocado, sales rose 11%, the second-largest jump behind Lidl's, to GBP416 million. Ocado's market share was slightly higher at 1.5% from 1.3%.
And finally, Iceland sales rose 1.7% to GBP636 million during the 12 weeks, though its market share was frozen at 2.2%.
Kantar's Head of Retail & Consumer Insight Fraser McKevitt noted that Lidl's boost was helped by its sales of rising in the Valentine's category.
McKevitt added: "Lidl has been benefiting from its store expansion programme for a number of years, hitting a landmark in February by opening its 800th British store. The new locations have helped to bring in nearly 900,000 additional shoppers to the supermarket this period."
Early Tuesday morning in London, Sainsbury's shares were 3.0% higher, Tesco was up 3.0%, Morrisons gained 2.6% and Ocado was 1.6% higher.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
