Aldi and Lidl take 13% of market

Aldi and Lidl, with a 13.1% share of the grocery market, now outsell all smaller grocery shops combined whose market share has fallen to 11.3%, according to the latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel.

The figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, published yesterday for the 12 weeks ending Apr 14, show the discounters continue to set the pace, with Aldi and Lidl posting respective growth rates of 28.5% and 7.3% and gaining a record share of the market.

Commercial director at Kantar Worldpanel, David Berry, said: “Aldi and Lidl hold a combined 13.1% record share of the grocery market. Both retailers have succeeded in recruiting more shoppers while also encouraging existing customers to spend more. The average spend by a discounter shopper has increased from €187 last year to €209 in the same 12-week period this year.

“The winning performance of the discounters has placed significant competitive pressure on the other retailers. SuperValu has posted the strongest response with an extra 80,000 shoppers driving growth of 1.3% and keeping it ahead of the market. Superquinn is another positive performer for the Musgrave Group, recording sales growth for the second successive month.”

The other major Irish-owned player in the market, Dunnes Stores, continues to grow but at a lower rate of 0.4%, leading to a slight dip in market share to 22.5%. British retail giant Tesco still dominates the sector but continues to perform behind the market with its share now standing at 27.7%, down from 28.2%.

Food inflation continues to outstrip the Consumer Price Index which stood 0.5% in the year to March.

Mr Berry said the rate of food price inflation dropped from 5.7% last month to 5.3%.

“This will be a welcome boost for shoppers following the recent high of 5.8% in February. Fruit and vegetables have had the biggest impact on inflation with prices now increasing at a slower rate. Vegetable prices rose by over 13% last month and this has fallen back to 12.7%,” he added.