Waitrose Soars As Discounters Slow

Two factors have contributed to this – the successful introduction of the Essentials range and the completed conversion of stores acquired from the Co-operative takeover of Somerfield.

On the other hand, the Discounters have seen their growth cut back.  

Year-on-year growth of 8.1% for Aldi and 6.3% for Lidl are still ahead of the market but this is a far cry from Aldi’s growth of 26% seen at the end of 2008.  

Our data shows that the new shoppers attracted to these outlets and their low prices have largely failed to convert to regular loyal customers.

With regard to the Top 4, the situation largely continues as before – Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons all show strong growth putting pressure on Tesco which suffers a small share drop from 31.2% a year ago to 31.0% now. 

This week we see Tesco’s answer as they double the Clubcard discount from 1% to 2%.  

Taking the contrasting performances of Waitrose and the Discounters together implies that “Recession Panic” is abating as far as the Grocery sector is concerned.

An update on inflation
Grocery price inflation has further decreased since last month and the figure for the 12 week-ending period 9th August 2009 is 5.1%, well below the peak of 9.2% seen in October last year.

This fall in inflation is largely a mathematical effect as the inflation ‘spike’ drops out of the annual comparisons.  

It is also important to remember that the drop in inflation does not mean that prices are falling, merely rising more slowly.

This figure is based on over 75,000 identical products compared year-on-year in the proportions purchased by British shoppers and therefore represents the most authoritative figure currently available.  

It is a ‘pure’ inflation measure in that shopping behaviour is held constant between the two comparison periods – shoppers are likely to achieve a lower personal inflation rate as they trade down or seek out more offers.

To view the video commentary from Ed Garner or to get further information please visit
http://worldwide.tns-global.com/groupmarketing/enewsletter/worldpanel/Worldpanel_Market_Share0809.wmv

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18th August 2009