Asda sees sales slump in the last three months – while supermarket rivals all see growth

Asda was the only major supermarket to see sales slip in the past three months, new data from Kantar reveals.

It saw sales slide 5.6 per cent annually in the 12 weeks to 1 September and its market share now sits at 12.6 per cent, lagging some way behind Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

Tesco saw sales rise 5.3 per cent and Sainsbury’s by 5.6 per cent, the data shows.

Tesco now has a market share of 27.8 per cent and Sainsbury’s 15.2 per cent, up slightly on June 2024. Meanwhile, Asda market share was down 1.2 percentage points.

All other supermarkets saw sales rise in the 12 week period, Kantar says, other than Co-op, where sales nudged 0.7 per cent lower. 

Ocado for the seventh month running was the fastest-growing supermarket with sales soaring 12.9 per cent, the fastest since May 2021, albeit with a market share of just 1.8 per cent.

Discounter Lidl’s sales rose 9.1 per cent, with the number of visitors boosted by digital vouchers for its bakery products. 

For that reason, it outperformed rival Aldi, which saw sales up 1.3 per cent, but market share shrink from 10.1 per cent to 9.9 per cent. 

On Monday, Aldi revealed its sales grew 16 per cent to £17.9billion for the 12 months to December 2023.

The results marked the group’s highest ever period of sales growth.

Food price inflation eases 

Grocery price inflation returned to a trajectory of easing in August after rising slightly in the previous month, Kantar says.

Grocery price inflation was at 1.7 per cent in four weeks to 1 September after rising to 1.8 per cent the previous month, following 17 straight months of falling rates from a peak of 17.5 per cent in March last year.

However, while inflationary pressures have eased, Kantar data shows some 60 per cent of shoppers are still concerned about rising supermarket prices. 

During the back-to-school period, sales of fromage frais, cereal, and fruit bars jumped 14 per cent in the last week of August versus the same week of the previous year, while sales of chocolate biscuit bars rose by 12 per cent. 

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: ‘The demand has picked up once again for lunchbox favourites as summer draws to a close and parents stock up ahead of the new school year.’

Kantar also found that grocery sales rose by 3 per cent over the same period compared with last year.

McKevitt adds: ‘Memories of the last two years remain strong, with nearly 60 per cent of shoppers still very or extremely concerned about rising grocery prices.

‘This is their second biggest financial worry, only behind home energy bills.’

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