Last checked at *Grocery inflation down for 14th straight month
*Partly reflects increase in promotional activity
*Ocado is UK's fastest growing grocer
*Tesco and Sainsbury's gain market share
*Asda sales fall, loses market share
LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - UK grocery price inflation fell for the 14th month in a row in April, partly driven by an
increase in supermarkets' promotional activity, industry data
showed on Tuesday.Market researcher Kantar said annual grocery price inflation was 3.2% in the four weeks to April 14, versus 4.5% in the
previous four week period.Kantar said items bought on offer made up 29.3% of supermarket sales – the highest level outside of Christmas since
June 2021."This emphasis on offers, coupled with falling prices in some categories like toilet tissues, butter and milk, has helped
to bring the rate of grocery inflation down for shoppers at the
till," Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at
Worldpanel by Kantar, said.But he noted prices were still rising quickly in markets such as sugar and chocolate confectionery and chilled fruit
juices and drinks.
Official UK data published last week showed overall inflation fell to 3.2% in March, driven by a slowdown in food
inflation to 4%.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to take credit for more than halving inflation, although there has been little sign
of an opinion poll boost for his struggling Conservative Party,
which badly lags the opposition Labour Party ahead of an
election expected this year.Kantar said online player Ocado was again the fastest growing grocer in the 12 weeks to April 14, with a 12.5%
growth in sales.Market leader Tesco and No. 2 Sainsbury's saw sales growth of 5.9% and 6.8% respectively, both gaining
market share year-on-year.Discounters Lidl and Aldi saw sales growth of 9.1% and 2.8% respectively, though the market share of Aldi edged lower.
No. 3 player Asda was again the laggard, with sales down 0.4% and its market share down 60 basis points - an outcome that
contrasted with the upbeat tone of its 2023 results published on
Monday.Kantar also noted total online grocery sales reached a share of 12.0% for the first time since July 2022.
UK supermarkets' market share and sales growth (%) Market share Market share % change in
12 wks to 12 wks to sales
April 14 April 16 (yr-on-yr)
2024 2023
Tesco 27.4 27.0 5.9
Sainsbury's 15.3 14.9 6.8
Asda 13.4 14.0 -0.4
Aldi 10.0 10.1 2.8
Morrisons 8.7 8.7 3.8
Lidl 8.0 7.6 9.1
Co-operative 5.4 5.7 -0.1
Waitrose 4.5 4.5 3.7
Iceland 2.2 2.2 3.7
Ocado 1.9 1.7 12.5
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