March 11, 2009
Grocery sales in the U.K. are holding their ground despite the continued economic difficulties, according to a new survey from Nielsen. Overall, sales grew 5.7 percent in the twelve-week period ended February 21 versus the same period last year, with all of the top 4 grocers attracting new customers.
Asda and Sainsbury showed solid growth during the quarter (7.6% and 5.5%, respectively), while Morrisons grew a strong 8.2 percent, driven by increased spending from its shoppers and Waitrose re-energized its business with 3.2 percent growth.
Discount retailers continued to make gains with a 27 percent increase in sales on a year-to-year basis.
12-week % share of grocery market spend by retailer
| Retailer | 12 w/e 2/23/08 | 12 w/e 2/21/09 | Sales Change % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesco | 27.9 | 27.8 | 4.9 |
| Asda | 15.5 | 15.8 | 7.6 |
| Sainsbury | 14.8 | 14.8 | 5.5 |
| Morrisons | 10.2 | 10.5 | 8.2 |
| Co-op | 5.8 | 5.7 | 2.6 |
| Waitrose | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.2 |
| M&S | 4.2 | 4.1 | 2.1 |
| Somerfield | 3.4 | 3.2 | 0.6 |
| Iceland | 1.7 | 1.9 | 17.4 |
| Source: Nielsen Total Till, Nielsen Homescan 2009 | |||
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