Grocery sales grow 3 per cent in August; Indies see decline

Take-home sales at the grocers rose by 3.0 per cent over the four weeks to 1 September compared with one year ago, according to the latest data from Kantar.

Ocado was the fastest growing grocer for the seventh consecutive month, delivering its quickest rate of growth since May 2021 with sales up by 12.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to 1 September. This put it ahead of the total online market, which expanded by 4.4 per cent.

Lidl’s sales were 9.1 per cent higher than a year ago, with footfall in August boosted through digital vouchers for bakery items. It now accounts for 8.0 per cent of the grocery market, having won share every month since April 2021.  Spending through fellow discounter Aldi’s tills rose by 1.3 per cent, which corners 9.9 per cent of the market share.

Convenience-focussed retailers have suffered sales declines in the three month period, with Asda being the worst performer with a 5.6 per cent drop in sales. Symbols and independents saw a sales decrease of 1.8 per cent, and Co-op, 0.7 per cent.

With popular conversation dominated by Oasis’ surprise reunion tour, Kantar has also looked at how Britons’ diets have changed over the 15 years since the band last toured together.

“An Oasis ticket wasn’t the only thing the country was queuing up for this month – several British staples have become even more popular today than they were 15 years ago,” Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, commented.

“We’re buying more oven chips now than the same four week period back in 2009, with a supersonic sales jump of 44 per cent by volume, while take-home beer and lager sales have nudged up by 12 per cent. Gravy sales have dipped slightly though, with the proportion of people buying gravy over the month dropping by 8 per cent in comparison to the same month in 2009.”

Households across Britain joined the Gallagher brothers in making a return of sorts, as many prepared to settle back at their work desks and into classrooms this month.

“The demand has picked up once again for lunchbox favourites as summer draws to a close and parents stock up ahead of the new school year. Sales of fromage frais and cereal and fruit bars both lifted by 14 per cent, and chocolate biscuit bars by 12 per cent over the last week of the month,” McKevitt said.

Looking further ahead, retailers and brands will be waiting to see how the chancellor’s Autumn Budget could impact household incomings and outgoings, McKevitt noted.

“Despite grocery price inflation easing back to 1.7 per cent over the last four weeks, shoppers' financial confidence hasn’t risen with it. Memories of the last two years remain strong, with nearly 60 per cent of shoppers still very or extremely concerned about rising grocery prices. This is their second biggest financial worry, only behind home energy bills,” he said.

“Retailers have been doing their bit to help shoppers keep the cost of the weekly shop down, and the proportion of sales on promotion increased year-on-year for the sixteenth month in a row in August. More than half of all grocery trips include some kind of deal, and this proportion rises as the trolley gets bigger.”