(Alliance News) - UK supermarket sales have fallen in recent weeks as easing virus curbs meant shoppers inched closer to old spending habits, data from Kantar showed on Tuesday, though German discount chains benefitted as online order growth eased.
According to Kantar, take-home grocery sales in the UK fell 1.6% to GBP30.76 billion in the 12 weeks to June 13, from GBP31.27 billion from a year earlier. Sales are still, however, GBP3.3 billion higher than they were two years earlier, before the onset of the pandemic.
Kantar noted that the average spend per grocery trip was down 14% annually during the 12-week period.
"While it's encouraging to see shoppers returning to the habits of old, there is still a way to go before the market entirely returns to normal. That's demonstrated by the fact that sales in the past 12 weeks were still GBP3.3 billion higher than in 2019 before the pandemic hit. Retailers will also be benefiting from sales of goods consumed on-the-go, such as picnics and lunches eaten at work, which are not captured in these numbers," Kantar Head of Retail & Consumer Insight Fraser McKevitt.
In the latest four weeks of the survey, supermarket footfall dropped by five million trips compared with May.
Kantar explained: "The re-opening of indoor hospitality in certain parts of the country took some spend away from the grocers and into the nation's cafes and restaurants."
However, alcohol sales were GBP29 billion higher than they were in May, helped by the bank holiday period and the delayed Euro 2020 football championships.
Aldi was the fastest growing grocer during the 12 week period, Kantar noted. The German chain, and compatriot Lidl, benefitted as online shopping "has stuttered".
"Online sales accounted for the same proportion of the market – 13.4% – in the four weeks to 13 June as they did in May. This plateau, and the fact that year-on-year sales were up by just 0.2%, suggests the appetite for large online shops is approaching a new baseline," Kantar added.
Aldi's sales rose 6.6% year-on-year during the period, with its market share rising to 8.2% from 7.4%. Lidl's sales were up 4.9%, and its market share improved to 6.1% from 5.8%.
Ocado Group PLC, which regularly took the crown of fastest growing grocery due to the pandemic, saw a 5.4% annual sales hike to GBP548 million. The online grocer's share of the market improved to 1.8% from 1.7%.
Among other listed grocers, Tesco PLC's sales fell 0.8% to GBP8.34 billion, though its market share improved to 27.1% from 26.9%.
J Sainsbury PLC's sales rose 0.4% to GBP4.67 billion and its market share rose to 15.2% from 14.9%.
Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, recently the object of a takeover tilt, saw a 1.5% sales fall to GBP3.12 billion. The Bradford-based grocer's market share was unchanged at 10.1%.
Elsewhere, Asda's sales fell 0.6%, though its market share improved to 14.1% from 13.9%.
Waitrose sales were up 3.3%, with the John Lewis Partnership-owned chain seeing its market share improve to 5.0% from 4.8%.
Kantar noted grocery deflation now stands at 1.9%, adding that prices are declining faster in "chocolate, canned colas and savoury snacks while falling in fresh bacon, toilet tissues and ambient cooking sauces".
"Recent concerns about inflation in the wider economy have yet to materialise in the grocery market," Kantar said.
"That is partly because of an increase in the number of promotions currently on offer – this period 29.6% of all grocery spending was done on some kind of deal, up from 26.4% this time last year."
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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