Nielsen Wire » Sainsbury

June UK Grocery Sales Show Best Growth In Two Years

Nielsen Wire — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:00:37 +0000

Warmer weather seems to have thawed the wallets of British consumers, as sales at grocery chains increased 6.6 percent in the four weeks ending July 11^th, the best underlying growth in more than 24 months, according to new research from The Nielsen Company. The strong results were driven by sales in fresh foods, soft drinks and general merchandise, the latter showing growth in the high single digits. Unit growth also rose by 2 percent across the sector.

“Shoppers continue to respond to offers, with another all-time high for promotional spend at 33 percent of fast moving consumer goods spend in the last four weeks. As a result, all retailers are attracting new shoppers, but their loyalty and commitment are likely to be lower,” said Mike Watkins, Senior Manager, Retailer Services at Nielsen.

Sainsbury shoppers increased the frequency of their visits by 6 percent in the last four weeks, while ASDA showed strong growth in grocery and general merchandise.

“The recent wet weather, combined with the start of the school holiday could make the level of improvement short-lived. However, last year was a washout both in terms of weather and sales, so we are still likely to see good year-on-year improvements from food retailers over the rest of the summer,” said Watkins.

Retailer	12 w/e 7/12/08	12 w/e 7/11/09	Value Sales % Change
Tesco	28.1%	28.4%	5.3%
Asda	15.2%	15.7%	7.7%
Sainsbury	14.3%	14.6%	6.4%
Morrisons	10.2%	10.6%	8.0%
Co-op	6.2%	6.2%	4.2%
Waitrose	3.4%	3.6%	8.4%
M&S	3.7%	3.6%	1.8%
Somerfield	3.5%	2.8%	-17.3%
Iceland	1.7%	1.8%	8.8%
Source: Nielsen Total Till, Nielsen Homescan

Promotions Spur Growth In UK Grocery Sales

Nielsen Wire — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:04:46 +0000

UK grocery sales grew 5.1 percent in the 12 week period ended May 16^th, largely due to the record number of products on promotion according to new research from Nielsen. Morrisons continued the solid performance it has been exhibiting over the last few months with sales growth of 7.9 percent over the same period a year ago, while Asda and Sainsbury also posted gains of 7.4 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.

“With a record of 32 percent of all sales being goods on offer in the four weeks to May 2009, retailers recognize that they need to show good value for money as a fundamental shift in consumer behavior has taken place over the past few months. At face value, this will be good news for Asda, Tesco and the other discounters, but it is also an opportunity for all other retailers to get a bigger share of wallet of the recession-struck shopper,” said Mike Watkins, Senior Manager, Retailer Services at Nielsen.

% Share of Grocery market Spend, 12 Weeks Ending May 16, 2009

Retailer	12 w/e 5/17/08	12 w/e 5/16/09	Value Sales % Change
Tesco	28.1	28.0	4.8
Asda	15.2	15.6	7.4
Sainsbury	14.5	14.8	7.3
Morrisons	10.4	10.6	7.9
Co-op	6.2	6.1	2.5
Waitrose	3.5	3.5	4.0
M&S	3.7	3.7	3.6
Somerfield	3.6	3.2	-6.0
Iceland	1.6	1.8	13.0
Source: Nielsen Total Till, Nielsen Homescan

Retail Sales Start To Bloom In UK

Nielsen Wire — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:45:36 +0000

Sales in the UK grocery sector showed promising growth in the eight weeks ended April 18^th, racking up 4.2 percent increases, and volume growth of 5.8 percent over the same period in 2008. The convenience sector also showed a 3.2 percent in sales growth over a year ago, a marked improvement from a few months ago when sales growth was languishing at about 1 percent.

Sales over Easter week benefited the out-of-town megastores, which rung up sales 22 percent over the same period last year.

“Over 20 percent growth is a welcome boost for retailers. The better weather and later Easter drove shoppers out and got them spending not only on grocery, but also confectionary, snacks and alcohol,” said Mike Watkins, senior manager, retailer services at Nielsen.

Sainsbury benefited from strong in-store offers and prices cuts, drawing new shoppers and once again increasing its share to just under 15 percent.

Percent share of grocery market spend by retailer

Retailer	12 w/e 4/19/08	12 w/e 4/18/09	Value Sales % Change
Tesco	28.1%	27.9%	4.6%
Asda	15.2%	15.6%	7.9%
Sainsbury	14.6%	14.9%	7.5%
Morrisons	10.4%	10.6%	7.4%
Co-op	6.2%	6.0%	2.8%
Waitrose	3.6%	3.5%	3.3%
M&S	3.8%	3.7%	4.2%
Somerfield	3.6%	3.3%	-1.6%
Iceland	1.6%	1.8%	15.3%
Source: Nielsen Total Till, Nielsen Homescan

Read the full press release here.

British Shoppers Follow Bargains

Nielsen Wire — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:10:24 +0000

UK grocery sales grew at 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2009 over the same period a year earlier, according to new research from Nielsen, with Morrisons leading the pack with 6.9 percent growth, followed closely by Asda with 6.7 percent and Sainsbury with 5 percent. Tesco continued to lose market share, falling to 27.6 percent from 28 percent in the same period in 2008. So what may be driving consumers to change where they shop?

“Shoppers are now well versed with money saving strategies, making the most of price cuts and promotions with many also opting for retailer own labels, where growth is almost 6 percent,” said Mike Watkins, Senior Manager, Retailer Services at Nielsen.

To further extend the buying reach of their pounds and pence, shoppers are:

Continuing to reduce the number of times they shop for groceries, with the average number of visits falling at all major retailers (except the Co-op)
Shopping around for the best values versus staying with their regular retailer
Shopping for small amounts more often

“Morrisons, Asda and now Sainsbury have pulled away from Tesco in terms of sales growth and are all attracting new shoppers. Once in store, picking and choosing the best bargains, combined with overall shopper caution, has caused the amount that the average shopper spent in supermarkets over the last quarter to be lower than it was a year ago, Asda and Morrisons being the only exceptions,” said Watkins.

Read the full press release about first quarter 2009 UK grocery sales here.

U.K. Grocery Sales Hold Firm

Nielsen Wire — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:09:42 +0000

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

U.K. Value Food Sales Slow Between July and October

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:48:20 +0000

Growth (by value) of food sales at British supermarkets slowed to 5.4% during the 12 weeks ending October 4, compared with the same period in 2007, Nielsen reported Tuesday.

Flagging sales in September, when growth dipped to 4.5% — a full percentage point below August growth levels, drove the declines.

“Shoppers are still trading down,” Mike Watkins, senior manager, retailer services, Nielsen noted. “Family shoppers in particular, are trying to save money, with 70% saying on they are looking to economize on grocery shopping — up from 63% in June.”

Among the top UK food retailers, Tesco remained the dominant value retailer, with a 28.3% share of grocery market spending during 12-week period ending October 4, 2008 — up 4.8% over the chain’s 28.0% share of value sales during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Asda widened its lead in value sales over Sainsbury (13.9% share), achieving a 15.4% share of value food sales (and 8.3% year over year value growth) versus its 2007 share (14.7%).

Morrisons recorded the strongest year-over-year value sales growth of the top four food retailers (+9.6%), while Iceland showed the strongest overall growth (14.5%) during the 12-week period.

Rank (by share of grocery sales)	Retailers	Share of Grocery Sales: 12 Weeks Ending Oct. 6, 2007	Share of Grocery Sales: 12 Weeks Ending Oct. 4, 2008	% Change: Values Sales
1	Tesco	28.0%	28.3%	4.8%
2	Asda	14.7%	15.4%	8.3%
3	Sainsbury	14.0%	13.9%	3.4%
4	Morrisons	9.7%	10.3%	9.6%
5	Co-op	6.3%	6.1%	1.2%
6	Waitrose	3.4%	3.3%	0.7%
7	M&S	3.7%	3.6%	-1.0%
8	Somerfield	3.6%	3.5%	1.6%
9	Iceland	1.6%	1.7%	14.5%
Source: The Nielsen Company (July 7 – October 6, 2008 and July 5 – October 4, 2008).

View the full press release.