Consumer grocery spend increased 5.3% YOY in last 12 weeks
Asda and Sainbury’s jockey for No. 2 position – Sainsbury continued to post strong growth ahead of market with increase of 6.8% YOY.
Consumer spending on groceries grew at a robust rate of 5.3% in the twelve week period ending 15 July 2006 compared to the same period last year, according to just released figures from ACNielsen Homescan.
UK’s leading retailer Tesco – as well as Sainsbury and Waitrose all recorded growth rates ahead of the market in the past 12 weeks. “While Tesco clearly remains the number one player in the grocery trade, Sainbury is the one everyone is watching to take second place in the grocery league table,” said Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer Services.
According to ACNielsen Homescan, Tesco’s total till share for the past 12 weeks is 29.2%, followed by Asda in second place at 15.5% and a close running third, Sainbury at 14.8%.
“It’s a very tight race for second position and Sainbury’s may have found their winning formula. They have been consistently gaining momentum since the start of the year and are impressively 6.8 percent ahead of where they were a year ago. If they keep on growing at the same pace over the next few months, they will overtake Asda who are currently growing 3.9 percent,” continued Watkins.
“Sainsbury’s growth spurt is being fuelled by consumers appetite for their premium private label and healthy eating ranges – two of the strongest trends in the UK grocery industry. Categories which have enjoyed strong growth over the early summer include bakery (6.9%), fresh fruit and vegetables (6.5%), Dairy and deli (6%) and Fresh meat/fish/poultry (5.7%) – all categories in which Sainsbury’s is traditionally successful.
Waitrose posted the biggest gain in the past 12 weeks with an increase of 11.8% compared to a year ago, driven by strong underlying growth as well as recent acquisitions.
