NFU Conference 2014: 10 facts about the UK grocery market

The changing landscape of the UK grocery market was explored by Ed Garner, communications director for Kantar Worldpanel, as he addressed the 2014 NFU Conference.
 
Grocery market facts:

1. Spending on food and drink still accounts for less than 10% of household expenditure, despite the prices rises seen since 2008
2. Aldi has seen growth of 29% over the past year compared with an average growth in sales of 3% in the total grocery market
3. Lidl and Waitrose are also outperforming the rest of the market with sales growing 18% and 6% respectively in the past year
4. Together Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl have increased their share of money taken at the tills by 3.1% in the past three years – but that accounts for over £4bn
5. Sainsbury is the only one of the big five retailers to show growth over the past three years
6. All retailers are seeking differentiation – either through the development of own label brands, in-store theatre, provenance and ethical considerations
7. Premium own label ranges are seeing growth despite the tough economic conditions – Tesco has seen sales of its Finest range grow by 13% in the last quarter, while Sainbury’s Taste the Difference range increased by 11%
8. Online shopping now accounts for 22% of the market and is forecast to keep growing
9. Single price discount stores like Poundland, Pound World and Home Bargains have seen a 15% increase in sales in the past year
10. The organic market was hit by the recession but that is starting to come back and the market is in growth – driven by a rise in sales of products like Yeo Valley and Rachel’s yoghurts

More on this: Read about Britain’s supermarket ombudsman, Christine Tacon