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(Alliance News) - UK grocery price inflation remained in double-digits for the tenth month in a row in April, according to figures from Kantar on Tuesday.
UK grocery prices rose 17.3% in the four weeks to 16 April from a year before, slowing marginally from the 17.5% annual rise recorded in the previous four weeks.
Grocery inflation was 17.0% for the longer 12-week period that ended April 16.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail & consumer insight at Kantar, said: "The latest drop in grocery price inflation will be welcome news for shoppers but it's too early to call the top. We've been here before when the rate fell at the end of 2022, only for it to rise again over the first quarter of this year. We think grocery inflation will come down soon, but that's because we'll start to measure it against the high rates seen last year."
Total consumer spend for all UK grocers totalled GBP32.51 billion in the 12 weeks ended April 16, up 9.4% from GBP29.73 billion in the same period a year prior.
Discount grocers Aldi and Lidl hit new record UK market shares in the latest 12 week period. These stood at 10.1% and 7.6%, respectively.
Lidl was the fastest growing grocer with sales increasing by 25.1% year-on-year, while Aldi was only marginally behind, with its sales increasing by 25.0%.
The three largest grocers continued to grow at similar rates in the 12 weeks to April 16. Asda led the pack with sales up 8.8% year on year, giving the retailer a 14.0% share of the UK market.
Tesco PLC and J Sainsbury PLC saw their sales increasing by 8.0% and 8.7%, respectively. Tesco remained the largest retailer by market share, holding 27.0% of the UK market, down from 27.3% the previous year. Sainsbury's market share stood at 14.9%, edging down from 15.0% last year.
Ocado saw its market share slip to 1.7% from 1.8%, while its sales increased by 8.7% year-on-year.
Kantar noted that there are three bank holidays in May, including for the coronation of King Charles III, which could boost grocery sales.
Fraser McKevitt explained: "We've recorded bumps in supermarket sales for previous major royal events. During the week of the Platinum Jubilee last year they were GBP87 million higher than the average in 2022. We'll be keeping a close eye on the data in the weeks to come to see if we get the same effect this time around, including how many of us indulge in a Coronation Quiche.
By Heather Rydings, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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