In a telling sign of the times, the German-owned discount supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl have captured their largest-ever share of the UK’s Christmas grocery market, as cash-strapped shoppers sought out bargains to offset rising household bills.
The latest figures from Worldpanel by Numerator reveal that Aldi and Lidl grabbed a combined 16.8% slice of the market in the four weeks leading up to 28 December. This represents a significant increase from 16.3% a year earlier, underscoring the growing appeal of these no-frills retailers among British consumers facing a cost-of-living crisis.
The data shows that total grocery spending during the festive period reached £13.8 billion, up 3.8% year-on-year. However, this increase was outpaced by grocery inflation, which eased slightly to 4.3% from 4.7% the previous month. This suggests that shoppers were actively seeking out cheaper alternatives, such as supermarket own-label products and discount chains, while also cutting back on the number of items purchased.
“It was a Christmas of smart savings and considered choices – almost every household bought into supermarkets’ premium ranges, while price remained front of mind,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator. “Discounters enjoyed their biggest ever Christmas share, and shoppers leaned on their loyalty cards to get the best deals.”
The rise of Aldi and Lidl has come at the expense of more established chains like Asda and the Co-op, which saw their market shares decline. Tesco remained the UK’s largest grocer, with sales up 4.3% to take a 28.7% market share, ahead of Sainsbury’s at 16.3%.
While the upmarket Waitrose also reported a strong 4.5% increase in sales over the three months to 29 December, the online specialist Ocado, which sells Marks & Spencer groceries, saw an even more impressive 15% jump. This suggests that some households had ample funds to splurge on their festive shopping, even as many others sought to tighten their belts.