The growth of value-based grocery retailers in the UK continues apace, according to the latest TNS Worldpanel grocery market share figures for the 12 weeks ending 5 October 2008.
Aldi continued its strong run with growth of 22.1% for the latest 12-week period, which is a record as its share reaches 3%.
The discounter's current on-air TV campaign features celebrity chef Phil Vickery in an attempt to add food quality to the established low-price reputation.
Lidl’s growth also continues ahead of the market, as does the performance of the freezer centres Iceland and Farm Foods.
Total grocers grew at 6.7% year-on-year, which reflects food price inflation rather than any real growth. "This figure is effectively the base line – retailers failing to match this growth will see their share erode," said Ed Garner, director of research, TNS Worldpanel.
Among the top four supermarkets, Tesco has seen its share drop by 0.4 points compared with the same period last year as its growth of 5.5% lags behind the market. It will be hoping its recent introduction of a range of discounter brands will give it a boost.
Sainsbury’s has also seen a small share drop of 0.1% but this is better performance than expected given the market shift to value-based retailers.
Morrisons and Asda show no sign of suffering at the hands of the hard discounters, however, and posted growth of 9.6% and 9% respectively. But it is now apparent Waitrose is under pressure, as growth has all but evaporated, with its market share down at 3.8%.