Morrisons was the fastest growing of Britain’s big four supermarket chains in the 12 weeks to May 17, new data has revealed.
According to latest figures from market research firm TNS Worldpanel, the UK’s fourth-largest grocery retailer grew 7.9 per cent against the same 12-week period last year, closely followed by Sainsburys on 7.8 per cent and Asda on 7.2 per cent.
However, the data showed industry leader Tesco continued to trail its main rivals with growth of just 4.7 per cent. As a result, its share of the grocery market dropped to 30.8 per cent from last year’s 31.1 per cent.
Asda saw its share of the UK grocery market rise to 17.1 per cent in the 12 weeks to May 17, from 16.9 per cent a year earlier, while Sainsbury’s increased its share from 16 per cent to 16.3 per cent. Morrisons’ market share rose to 11.6 per cent.
TNS said the latest figures suggested Waitrose’s introduction of its lower-price ‘Essentials’ range has paid off, with the company recording market share growth of 4 per cent.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the market the discount supermarket trio of Aldi, Netto and Lidl saw their combined market share grow to 6.1 per cent, up 0.2 per cent from the same 12-week period last year.
The findings from TNS showed that the UK grocery market grew 5.8 per cent in the 12-week period. TNS said although the increase was down from the April figure of 6.2 per cent – due to lower food price inflation – it still represented “robust growth”.
