Asda the winner as its share of market increases

Leeds-based Asda reported the best results among the big four supermarkets, increasing its market share to 17.4 per cent and growing sales by 0.8 per cent compared with last year, according to the latest Kantar Worldpanel data​.​

Fraser​ ​McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel​, ​said: ​“Asda’s consistency is shining through. Shoppers are warming to the lower level of promotions. They appreciate the clarity.”

Supermarkets have been heavily criticised for yo-yo pricing, whereby they raise prices before cutting them in order to claim they have slashed the price. ​

​At a time when many families are living on a tight budget and they know exactly the price of their shopping basket, consumers have become disgruntled with supermarket ploys.

Asda’s decision to freeze prices and its pledge to be 10 per cent cheaper than rivals appears to be resonating with shoppers.

​Kantar’s data showed that Tesco was by far the worst performer with sales down 4.5 per cent, slashing its market share from 30.2 per cent to 28.8 per cent.

​“Tesco is certainly having a tough time of it.

“It has really come to a head as the market has slowed down,” said Mr McKevitt​.

“Tesco is in a bad place, but they do have some strengths. They are tapping into consumer demand for convenience. Dave Lewis (Tesco’s new CEO) hasn’t announced what changes he’ll make yet.”

​​Tesco’s sales are now falling at three times the rate of Bradford-based Morrisons, where the sales decline is slowing down.

Morrisons’ market share remains under pressure, with sales down by 1.3 per cent, cutting its market share from 11.1 per cent to 10.9 per cent, but the rate of decline has slowed considerably as its fresh food promotional voucher scheme has taken effect.

“We didn’t see sales pick up when Morrisons started making price cuts, but we have seen a pick-up with the voucher deal over the summer when shoppers spent £10 on fresh food. This means the basket size has increased,” said Mr McKevitt.

Sainsbury’s sales fell 1.8 per cent, reducing its market share from 16.6 per cent to 16.2 per cent.

“Sainsbury’s has had a really good run,” said Mr McKevitt.

“Brand Match has convinced people that it’s not more expensive than its rivals. Sainsbury’s has been dragged down by the overall fall.”

The clear winners during the 12 weeks to September 14 were German discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Aldi’s market share rose from 3.7 per cent to 4.8 per cent and sales shot up by 29.1 per cent.

Lidl’s market share rose from 3.0 per cent to 3.5 per cent and sales jumped 17.7 per cent.

“The rise of the discounters has hit Tesco particularly hard as it’s the biggest in the market,” said Mr McKevitt.

“But they’ve all been affected. An extra 1.5 million shoppers went through the discounters’ doors over the last year.”