The latest Total Till figures from The Nielsen Company show a steady grocery market with growth at 3.2% in the latest 12 weeks to 7 August compared to the same period a year ago.
Mike Watkins, senior manager of retailer services at Nielsen, said: “There is the expected post World Cup lull in sales for the alcohol and snacking categories, but the major supermarkets have looked to minimise this with end of season discounting in general merchandise and strong promotions for Back to School and they continue to steal sales from other non-food retailers.
“Growths at the grocery multiples have remained unchanged at +3.1% over the last four weeks. Out of town growths have lagged due to the holiday season with high street and convenience stores performing better as shoppers visited more frequently for fresh foods and summer treats. Overall, market conditions are stable but some food inflation is starting to show in the trends over the last few weeks. (Source: Scantrack Grocery Multiples).
“Co-operative food retailers now top the growth table as Somerfield conversions accelerate and shoppers visit Co-op stores more often. Waitrose and Morrisons growths remain ahead of Tesco and Asda but growths at Morrisons have started to slow as sales from the ex-Co-operative Group stores begin to annualise.
“In the last four weeks Sainsbury’s growth of +7.1% means they have just inched ahead of Morrisons at +6.3%. M&S have also had a good 12 weeks with food and drink growths improving to +7% (source: Nielsen Total Till).
“It’s too soon to assess the long-term impact of the headline grabbing price cuts from Asda but the early indications are that this is helping to increase overall basket spend at Asda similar to the way the summer Clubcard promotions did for Tesco. Shoppers are certainly taking advantage of all of the offers and the increased level of promotions.”
Source: The Nielsen Company
