*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
JPMorgan Cazenove cuts Tesco, Sainsbury's price targets
(Sharecast News) - Tesco and Sainsbury's were in the red on Friday after JPMorgan Cazenove cut its price targets on the shares, saying it remains cautious on the UK grocery space fundamentally, which based on its investor feedback "appears still to be a contrarian stance".
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