In January, food price inflation in the UK dipped marginally to 6.8%, a slight decrease from December 2023’s 6.9%, as reported by Kantar. This reduction is modest compared to the 2.2 percentage point drop observed between November and December.
During the four weeks, the value of take-home grocery sales increased by 2.9%.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, commented, “While there has been considerable discussion about the potential effects of the Red Sea shipping crisis on goods’ costs, the primary narrative in January’s grocery sector was the intense competition among supermarkets to provide the best value, rather than the influence of global events.”
He added, “With a slight reduction in promotional activities since the start of the new year, the rate of inflation has not decreased as rapidly as it might have.”
In the 12 weeks leading up to January 21, both Sainsbury’s and Tesco saw a rise in market share compared to the previous year. Sainsbury’s sales grew by 8.1%, boosting its market share to 15.7%, up by 0.3 percentage points, while Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, experienced a 6.3% increase in sales, enhancing its market share to 27.6%, a slight increase from 27.5%.
Lidl continued as Britain’s fastest-growing grocer for the fifth consecutive month and was the only retailer to achieve double-digit growth in the latest 12 weeks, with sales surging by 11.9% and its market share reaching 7.5%.
Aldi also outperformed the market, with a 7.2% increase in sales and a market share boost of 0.1 percentage points to 9.3%.
Morrisons reported a 2.8% rise in sales, holding an 8.8% market share. Asda’s market share stood at 13.7%, with a 2.1% increase in sales compared to the previous year.
Waitrose and Co-op also saw growth, with Waitrose’s sales up by 3.5% and a market share of 4.6%, and Co-op’s sales growing by 1.8%, accounting for 5.3% of the market. Iceland experienced a 2.3% growth, securing a 2.4% market share.
Online grocery sales increased by 6.3% in the last 12 weeks, slightly outpacing Ocado, which saw a 4.0% increase in spending compared to the previous year. Ocado holds a 1.7% share of the total market.
