*UK grocery inflation at lowest level since Feb. 2022 -Kantar
*23% of UK households still struggling financially -Kantar
*Ocado was fastest growing grocer in 12 weeks to March 17 -Kantar
*Asda was laggard with sales up 0.2% -Kantar
*Aldi sales up 3.1% but market share edges lower -Kantar
LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - UK grocery price inflation eased this month to its lowest level since February 2022, but
nearly a quarter of British households still identify themselves
as struggling financially, industry data showed on Tuesday.Market researcher Kantar said annual grocery price inflation was 4.5% in the four weeks to March 17, versus 5.3% in the
previous four week period.Prices are rising fastest in markets such as sugar confectionery, chocolate confectionery and vitamins &
supplements and are falling fastest in butter, milk and toilet
tissues, it said.“Grocery inflation has come down significantly since hitting an eye-watering peak of 17% in March 2023," Fraser McKevitt,
Kantar's head of retail and consumer insight, said."However, despite this continued slowdown, many British households are still feeling the squeeze. 23% identified
themselves as struggling financially in our data – the same
proportion as reported in November last year.”Kantar said take-home grocery sales rose 4.6% over the four week period year-on-year.
The researcher noted an early Easter boosted sales of seasonal treats in the first three months of 2024 by 88 million
pounds ($111 million) compared with the same period last year.Kantar said online supermarket Ocado was the fastest growing UK grocer over the 12 weeks to March 17, with
sales up 9.5% year-on-year, benefiting from a sustained voucher
campaign which helped it attract customers.Industry leader Tesco and No. 2 Sainsbury's saw their sales increase by 5.8% and 6.7% respectively
and they both won share.
No. 3 Asda was the clear laggard, with sales up 0.2%, while Morrisons' sales rose 3.6%.
German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl saw sales growth of 3.1% and 8.8% respectively. However, while Lidl's market share
increased, Aldi's edged lower.UK supermarkets' market share and sales growth (%) Market share Market share % change in
12 wks to 12 wks to sales
Mar. 17 2024 Mar. 19 2023 (yr-on-yr)
Tesco 27.3 26.9 5.8
Sainsbury's 15.2 14.8 6.7
Asda 13.8 14.3 0.2
Aldi 9.8 9.9 3.1
Morrisons 8.7 8.8 3.6
Lidl 7.8 7.4 8.8
Co-operative 5.5 5.7 -0.4
Waitrose 4.5 4.5 3.9
Iceland 2.2 2.3 2.2
Ocado 1.9 1.8 9.5
IN BRIEF: Sainsbury's begins first tranche of GBP200 million buyback
J Sainsbury PLC - London-based supermarket chain - Begins share buyback programme of up to GBP200 million to be completed by the end of its financial year on March 1, 2025. Says the first tranche will be for a maximum of GBP150 million in shares, ending on or before November 1. Sainsbury's confirmed on Thursday it would begin the programme, first announced in February, when it announced its annual results. Revenue rose 3.8% to GBP32.70 billion in the financial year that ended March 2 from GBP35.16 billion in financial 2023. The increase in revenue was offset by cost of sales rising 3.1% to GBP30.3 million from GBP29.4 million and administrative expenses rising 27% to GBP1.9 million from GBP1.5 million. Pretax profit fell by 15% to GBP277 million from GBP327 million. Despite the falling bottom-line, Sainsbury's declared a final dividend of 9.2 pence, taking its full-year total dividend to an unchanged 13.1p compared to a year earlier.
Read more