Yahoo Finance Sainsbury’s gains shoppers as it ramps up price battle with Aldi and Lidl
Sainsbury’s has recorded the biggest increase in its number of shoppers since 2013, as it stepped up a price battle with discounters Aldi and Lidl.
New Kantar figures reveal that Britain’s second biggest supermarket increased its share of the grocery market to 15.6pc at the end of November, up from 15.2pc the month prior.
This marked Sainsbury’s largest market share gain since March 2013.
It comes just weeks after the supermarket claimed it was regaining momentum in the battle against discount retailers as it scaled up its Aldi Price Match scheme.
Around 400 products are now included in the initiative, which first launched in 2021.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said the company was winning shoppers from all supermarket rivals, including Aldi and Lidl, adding: “We’re the only supermarket that can say that and it’s happening now because we are at our most competitive ever.”
At the time, no concrete figures were given to support its claim.
Kantar analyst Fraser McKevitt said Sainsbury’s growth was buoyed by higher demand for its own-brand products: “Sales of its popular ‘Taste the Difference’ range [are] up by a whopping 23pc year on year.”
Tesco also gained market share for the fifth consecutive month, rising to 27.5pc from 27.4pc at the end of October.
At the same time, Aldi’s market share slipped to 9.6pc from 9.7pc over the same period.
Lidl’s market share, however, ticked higher to 7.8pc from 7.6pc, as it is thought to be stealing share from rivals including Morrisons and Asda.
Mr McKevitt said competition was becoming more fierce among supermarkets going into Christmas, which was reflected in the prices of festive staples.
The cost of a Christmas dinner is up by around 1.3pc versus last year, which Kantar said was well below the 9.1pc inflation in wider food prices.
Mr McKevitt said: “The retailers are battling it out to offer value to consumers during this important month for trading and are doing what they can to keep prices low.”
It means that some Christmas dinner items are selling for less than they did last year, with the price of Brussels sprouts down around 4.3pc on average and the price of sparkling wine around 5.9pc lower.
However, the broader price inflation means that Kantar is forecasting grocery sales to surpass £13bn this December in what would be a record high.
