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(Alliance News) - UK grocery sales topped pre-virus figures again, figures from Kantar showed on Tuesday, though pre-pandemic patterns began to re-emerge as more shoppers headed back to stores and basket sizes reduced.
Grocery sales reached GB31.58 billion in the 12 weeks to January 23, Kantar said. This was down 3.8% from last year's figure of GBP32.81 billion, though Kantar explained that these year-on-year figures reflected tough comparisons against the high demand seen during the lockdowns at the start of 2021.
Compared to pre-virus times, UK grocery sales were up 8.0%.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, explained: "Since the first lockdown in March 2020, shoppers have been buying in bulk and visiting the supermarket less often. But basket sizes are now 10% smaller than this time last year, hitting their lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic, while footfall increased by 5% as every major retailer was busier in their stores."
Increased confidence in visiting stores was also reflected in online grocery sales. Digital orders accounted for 13% of all grocery spend in January, almost double the pre-pandemic proportion. However, online purchases were down by 15% compared to last January, when the UK was in lockdown.
Sales of no- and low- alcohol products, as well as plant-based offerings, soared as Brits embraced dry January and Veganuary. Alcohol-free beer sales were up 5% and own-label products marketed as "healthy" were stronger, increasing 8%.
Fresh fruit, salad and vegetable sales were down but plant-based products proved more popular than ever with a record 10.7 million households buying at least one item that was a dairy alternative, a meat substitute or a plant-based labelled product this January.
Sales growth for these plant-based alternatives stood at 0.5%. This was well above the wider grocery market, according to McKevitt.
Only three retailers recorded year-on-year growth this period but every grocer boosted its sales over the last two years, Kantar noted.
Ocado Group PLC sales grew by 2.3% over the past 12 weeks to GBP555 million, with its share of the grocery market increasing by 0.1 of a percentage point to 1.8%. Sales 40% against two years earlier.
Tesco PLC's market share moved up to 27.9% from 27.3% a year earlier, marking a full year of market share gains for the retailer. Its sales were down 1.9% year-on-year, however, falling to GBP8.80 billion, though this was 10% above pre-pandemic levels.
J Sainsbury PLC's share of the market ticked down to 15.6% from 15.7%. Sales there fell 4.8% annually to GBP4.92 billion. This sales figure was up 6.6% on two years ago, the smallest two-year change out of the London-listed retailers.
Waitrose saw the greatest footfall increase of any supermarket, helping its share increase by 0.1 percentage points to 5.1%. Asda holds 14.4% of the market, down from 14.6% a year earlier, and Morrisons holds 9.9%, down from 10.4%.
Lidl and Aldi recorded simultaneous growth for the first time since June last year. Lidl was the fastest growing physical retailer and increased sales by 1.2%, helping boost its market share by 0.3 percentage points to 6.2%. Aldi gained an additional 1.1 million shoppers over the past 12 weeks, helping its share grow by 0.4 percentage points to 7.8%. The German discount chain's sales rose by 1.1%.
The latest four-week grocery price inflations stood at 3.8%, a 0.3% point rise from December. Prices are rising fastest in markets such as savoury snacks and fresh beef, while falling in fresh bacon, vitamins and beer. For the 12-week period, grocery inflation stood at 3.2%.
"Prices are rising on many fronts, and the weekly shop is no exception. Like-for-like grocery price inflation, which assumes that shoppers buy exactly the same products this year as they did last year, increased again this month. Taken over the course of a 12-month period, this 3.8% rise in prices could add an extra GBP180 to the average household’s annual grocery bill."
By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com
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