Mandatory face coverings result in fewer trips to the shops - Kantar

The latest statistics from Kantar show that local lockdowns in parts of the UK have meant that many of the trends of the past five months are still apparent, with shoppers making fewer trips to stores in the past four weeks than they did a month ago.

Kantar said the introduction of mandatory face coverings in shops has taken some getting used to. The week after the rule was adopted, shoppers visited supermarkets two million less times than expected.

Online grocery reached a new record market share, and now accounts for 14 per cent of all sales.

Kantar said the market is beginning to move away from the heady heights of the lockdown period. Grocery spend of £9.7bn over the past four weeks is the lowest since February, although this is still considerably higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Charlotte Scott, consumer insight director at Kantar, said: “While things are far from normal, the data shows a gradual softening of the more extreme lockdown trends in the grocery market.

"The relaxing of rules across much of the country means shoppers are less inclined to stock up their cupboards with regular large trips. That has seen the average spend drop below £25 for the first time since March. However, at £24, it is still a world away from the pre-Covid average of £19 per trip."

Ms Scott said that although the current average of 14 shopping trips per month per household is lower than it was last month, it is higher than in April and May, when lockdown rules were much tighter.

"So, while some consumers have shopped more often in the past month, the story varies in different parts of the country, with localised lockdowns and slower openings resulting in people making fewer trips in the North, the Midlands and Wales," she added.

This period saw the introduction of mandatory face coverings for visiting shops in England. The number of supermarket trips was two million lower than would have usually been expected in the week after the rule was adopted, and currently just over half of shoppers say they feel safe in stores.

Kantar said this suggests the public may need time to adjust to the new regulations and they now have to plan ahead for every shopping trip.

Online shopping reached another new record market share in the latest four weeks – with 14 per cent of all sales now ordered through the internet.

Ocado has been a major beneficiary of this, and it also hit a new record this month, registering a market share of 1.8 per cent over the past 12 weeks and growth of 46 per cent.

Elsewhere, Kantar said wider economic issues will continue to dictate how the market performs.

Ms Scott said: “With the country officially entering recession last week, atypical behaviours are likely to continue.

"During a recession we would generally expect shoppers to manage their spend more carefully. Early evidence suggests that most are not yet choosing to trade down, with brands and premium own label lines currently performing well. However, price cuts have increased compared with July as some people look for opportunities to save.”

August also marked the introduction of the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, designed to give a shot in the arm to the hospitality industry.

Kantar said early indications suggest that the initiative has been successful, with a significant uplift in footfall at restaurants, cafes and bars between Monday and Wednesday over the past fortnight.

Morrisons was the fastest growing big four retailer, with sales up 16 per cent, driven by a particularly strong performance from its supermarket stores. The Bradford-based firm now accounts for 10.2 per cent of the market.

Despite Tesco being close behind in terms of growth, it lost market share of 0.4 percentage points bringing it to 26.6 per cent. Sainsbury’s share now stands at 14.9 per cent, losing 0.5 percentage points this month, while Asda lost 0.6 percentage points taking it to 14.3 per cent.