Convenience stores up market share in January as grocery sales rally continues

Convenience stores, including independents and those operated by the major chains, in January recorded their highest four-week ending market share since September at 12.9 per cent, latest figures from Kantar show.

As the grocery sales accelerated from the record sales in the Christmas period, independent and symbol retailers grew by 20.9 per cent during the 12 weeks to 24 January, and accounted for 1.7 per cent of the market this period.

The sector trails only Ocado (36.6%) and Iceland (21.8%) in the growth rate.

Overall grocery sales rose by 12.2 per cent during the 12-week period, as the reintroduction of national lockdown restrictions saw eating out of the home curtailed once more.

In January alone, shoppers spent £1 billion more on supermarket food and drink items compared to the same four-week period last year.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said shoppers also looked to treat themselves in January as a way of coping with another month of restrictions.

“Vegan-specific ranges were bought by 6.6 million households this month, a 10 per cent increase on last year, as Veganuary helped sales of those products grow by 23 per cent in the past four weeks compared to 2020. Dry January also played a role in increased spend on no-alcohol beer, which grew by 12 per cent,” he noted.

Alcohol sales meanwhile grew overall by £234 million, an uplift of 29 per cent on last year.

The Kantar data also shows that pandemic-induced shopping patterns remain strong, with people under 28, who are typically more open to visiting physical shops, increasing spending in larger physical stores and over-45s, on the other hand, cutting back spend in bigger supermarkets in the four weeks to 24 January.

Older demographics also lead the rapid growth of online shopping, which hit a record share of 14 per cent.

“Retired households have boosted their online spend by a staggering 229 per cent compared with January 2020. Older people are clearly getting more comfortable and proficient at ordering online and they now make up 28 per cent of the 6.4 million who used online services in Great Britain this month,” McKevitt said.