Recent data highlights Lidl and Ocado as leaders in retail growth, contrasting with Asda’s declining performance.
- Lidl has maintained its status as the fastest-growing physical retailer, with significant increases in shopper numbers and fresh produce sales.
- Ocado achieved the highest online growth among supermarkets, demonstrating a substantial increase in sales over the period.
- Despite overall market growth, Asda and Co-op experienced declines in both sales and market share.
- Kantar’s findings reveal a significant rise in retail activity, although not yet reaching pre-pandemic levels.
Lidl continues to dominate the retail growth charts, marking its 15th consecutive period as the leading brick-and-mortar retailer. The latest Kantar data reveals that Lidl attracted an additional 326,000 shoppers within a 12-week span, outpacing all competitors. Notably, the supermarket reported a remarkable 22% growth in fresh produce sales, underscoring its appeal to consumers seeking fresh groceries.
In the realm of online retail, Ocado emerged as the frontrunner, with a 9.5% increase in sales over the measured period. This growth positions Ocado ahead of its peers in the digital market, highlighting its effective strategies in the evolving online shopping landscape. Meanwhile, traditional giants Tesco and Sainsbury’s also saw positive sales increments, recording 4.6% and 4.4% growth respectively, thereby improving their market shares.
Asda, however, faced challenges, with its sales slipping by 5.5% and its market share decreasing by one percentage point to 12.5%. The Co-op also experienced a 2.1% drop in sales, reflecting a broader struggle to capture consumer interest amid growing competition.
Overall, the grocery sector saw a 2% rise in take-home sales over the four weeks leading up to early November, amounting to £11.6 billion, the highest monthly sales figure for the year to date. There was a notable increase in the frequency of shopping trips, reaching a four-year high with households averaging slightly more than four visits per week.
According to Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, October 2024 marked the busiest month for supermarkets since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. While the frequency of trips has gradually increased, it has yet to return to pre-COVID levels. This period also saw a modest rise in grocery price inflation to 2.3%, remaining under 3% since early summer.
The retail landscape continues to shift, with Lidl and Ocado driving growth while others like Asda face hurdles.
