Sainsbury S Stands out in the Run up to Christmas

15 December 2015

Sainsbury’s stands out in the run up to Christmas

The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, published today for the 12 weeks ending 6 December 2015, show total grocery market sales up by only 0.1% compared to last year as retailers battle for sales during the vital Christmas period. Despite Black Friday seeing a small increase of 4% in sales – compared to the previous Friday – the event itself has done little to buoy the market overall. The latest period sees the lowest growth since June and is the ninth consecutive month where sales have increased by less than 1%.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, comments: “Although slow growth means a distinct lack of seasonal cheer for the market, the news is more positive for consumers looking to save this Christmas. Last year customers spent an average of £71.33 on their big Christmas shop but with falling prices set to continue, shoppers are likely to enjoy a cheaper Christmas this year. All supermarkets are cutting prices, particularly on staples like eggs and butter, with the cost of everyday groceries falling by 1.9% this month.

“Despite the difficult market conditions, Sainsbury’s increased sales by 1.2%, growing across its convenience, supermarket and online businesses and increasing its market share to 16.7%. Consumers continue to be drawn to the retailer’s ‘Taste the Difference’ range, and with sales of champagne and sparkling wine up by a quarter it seems clear that the grocer is successfully tapping into demand for premium goods. Sainsbury’s recent run of success predates its popular ‘Mog’s Christmas Calamity’ advert, with the retailer now having grown ahead of the market for 3 months in a row.”

Things remain tough for Tesco and Asda, with both seeing a fall in sales of 3.4% as consumers drift away from larger stores towards the discounters. It’s not all bad news – while internet shopping has created a challenge for the large out-of-town sites favoured by more traditional grocers, both Tesco and Asda have managed to increase sales online. Elsewhere, Morrisons has started to feel the impact of selling 130 of its M Local convenience stores, with revenues down by 2%.

Aldi and Lidl remain at the combined 10% share of the market they achieved last month, growing sales by 15.4% and 17.9% respectively year-on-year. While many shoppers may not head to Aldi and Lidl for their entire Christmas shop more and more are likely to pop in for trimmings ahead of the 25th, and each discounter should hope to attract a healthy 10 million shoppers over the Christmas period. The Co-operative and Waitrose were both market share winners this month. The Co-operative’s revival continues with sales growth of 2% and an increased market share of 6.2%. Waitrose has grown revenues by 2.7% and now holds a respectable 5.1% share of the market.

An update on inflation

Grocery inflation now stands at -1.9%* for the 12 week period ending 6 December 2015. This means shoppers are now paying less for a representative basket of groceries than they did in 2014. This is the 16th consecutive period of grocery price deflation. Prices are falling faster than they did last month, when they fell by 1.7%. Falling prices reflect the impact of Aldi and Lidl and the market’s competitive response, as well as deflation in some major categories including eggs, butter, bread, crisps and fresh poultry.

*This figure is based on over 75,000 identical products compared year-on-year in the proportions purchased by shoppers and therefore represents the most authoritative figure currently available. It is a ‘pure’ inflation measure in that shopping behaviour is held constant between the two comparison periods – shoppers are likely to achieve a lower personal inflation rate if they trade down or seek out more offers.

Kantar Worldpanel has launched a new data visualisation tool that allows you to view and analyse Grocery Market Share data online. The latest sales share figures for all of the major grocers can be viewed and compared with historical figures here and all graphics within the Kantar Worldpanel dataviz are available to embed in your site. (Optimal viewing in recent versions of Internet Explorer or Chrome) MARKET SHARE - TOTAL TILL ROLL Includes all expenditure through main store tills and excludes petrol & instore concessions

Total Till Roll - GB Consumer Spend

12 Weeks to 07 December 2014 12 Weeks to 06 December 2015 % Change

£millions % ** £millions % ** %

Total Grocers 26,031 100.0% 26,048 100.0% 0.1% Total Multiples 25,526 98.1% 25,539 98.0% 0.1%

Tesco 7,564 29.1% 7,304 28.0% -3.4%

Asda 4,357 16.7% 4,209 16.2% -3.4%

Sainsbury's 4,297 16.5% 4,350 16.7% 1.2%

Morrisons 2,927 11.2% 2,869 11.0% -2.0%

The Co-operative 1,581 6.1% 1,613 6.2% 2.0%

Waitrose 1,290 5.0% 1,325 5.1% 2.7%

Aldi 1,274 4.9% 1,470 5.6% 15.4%

Lidl 968 3.7% 1,141 4.4% 17.9%

Iceland 536 2.1% 528 2.0% -1.5%

Other Multiples 731 2.8% 729 2.8% -0.3%

Symbols & Independents 506 1.9% 508 2.0% 0.6%

** = Percentage Share of Total Grocers

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Notes to editors

Please note that four week ending or six week ending retailer share data should not be used in media reporting. We would recommend that you use the 12 week ending data stated in this release, as it covers a longer time period which means it is a superior indicator of retailer performances and trends.

For all publicly-quoted Worldpanel data, users of our research (including media) must ensure that data is sourced Kantar Worldpanel.

These findings are based on Kantar Worldpanel data for the 12 weeks to 6 December 2015. Kantar Worldpanel monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 30,000 demographically representative households in Great Britain. All data discussed in the above announcement is based on the value of items being bought by these consumers, Kantar Worldpanel will only support data that is published in the context we have presented it and our own interpretation of these findings. We cannot be held responsible for any other interpretation of these findings.

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