The ‘big four’ supermarkets have reached a deadlock with their “aggressive” pricing, according to the latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, released today (8 November).
Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel says there is “no winner in the supermarket price war” as there is little movement in market share for the 12 weeks ending 30 October.
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Overall, the grocery market is growing at 4.6% per year, below the inflation rate of 6.1%, as households try to manage down their spending.
Garner added: “It comes as no surprise that, as shoppers try to control their budgets, an aggressive stance on price is driving retailer communication strategies – we have The Big Price Drop’ from Tesco, The Price Guarantee from Asda, Brand Match from Sainsbury’s and Price Crunch from Morrisons.
“The end result would appear to be a zero-sum game, as the performances from the big four show only marginal differences this period, with no outright winner.”
The figures also show discounters continue their strong run, particularly Aldi with year-on-year growth of 18.8% and an increase of its share from 2.3% to 2.6%. However there are now signs of a slackening of pace as shares and growth rates for both Aldi and Lidl have fallen back from recent peaks.
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By GlobalDataThe economic climate is favouring the value-for-money offering from frozen foods and Iceland has posted growth of 11.6% – the highest since recession in 2008 and 2009, according to Kantar.
“Given the universal emphasis on price across the sector, the big four retailers will need to differentiate themselves,” Garner added.
“Own-label brands are an obvious way of doing this. We are already seeing double-digit growth for Tesco Finest and substantial revamps for own-label ranges at Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – suggesting this might be a key battleground going forward.”
