Following the latest food inflation figures, Charles Allen, Food and Retail Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence shares his insight:
“Supermarket sales are being propelled by high food inflation with, on the Kantar data, total monthly sales up £1.1 billion (9.4%year-over-year) to £12.8 billion. Kantar measured inflation at 14.4% slightly down on November’s 14.6% while the Nielsen Shop Price Index showed it still quickening to 13.3% with fresh food up 15%.
“Aldi and Lidl are the main beneficiaries as consumers are turning to lower cost shops to get as much as possible for their spending. Combined the two have, according to Kantar, 16.3% of the Great Britain market in the 12 weeks to December 25. This is slightly down from the recent peak as, even though the discounters now carry many more premium seasonal items, consumers still turn to more established supermarkets over Christmas.
“It seems likely that with more new stores and record December sales, Aldi will gain more market share in 2023 along with Lidl. The end of comparisons with Covid-19 affected periods may slow the gains as consumers have shown they are happy to return to shops, buying what they need more frequently.”
