More than half (55%) of UK consumers are cutting back on food purchases, Nielsen reported Wednesday.  Last year, Nielsen’s Homescan survey found that just a third (36%) of UK consumers were trying to reduce grocery spending.  

Meanwhile, sales at low-cost food retailers are growing.  In the last 12 weeks, Tesco’s sales were up 6.1% over the same time perod last year. Sales at Asda (+8.9%) and Morrison’s (+9.5%) grew by even larger percentages during the same period.

“Shoppers have been making fewer visits to the major supermarkets,” Mike Watkins, Senior Manager, Retailer Services, Nielsen, noted.  “Instead they are maximising spend with less frequent, but big trolley shops to take advantage of the full range of offers.”

View the full press release.