Supermarket wars: Tesco rakes in £8.92bn of sales as clubcard points entice cash-strapped shoppers
Tesco remains Britain’s favourite supermarket with clubcard points helping cash-strapped shoppers in the cost of living crisis – but Waitrose was given a sales boost thanks to luxury purchasing during the King’s Coronation.
Figures released by Kantar show that in the 12 weeks to 15 May, ‘Big Four’ grocer Tesco raked in £8.92bn in sales up 8.9 per cent compared to the same period last year, as the group’s clubcard discounts enticed shoppers sniffing out the best deals.
As grocery inflation now stands at 17.1 per cent, down just 0.1 per cent on last month’s report, value retailer Aldi remains one of the UKs fastest growing retailers, taking in £2.6bn, up 24.4 per cent from last year.
“The drop in grocery price inflation, which is down by 0.1 percentage points on last month’s figure, is without doubt welcome news for shoppers but it is still incredibly high – 17.2 per cent is the third fastest rate of grocery inflation we’ve seen since 2008,” Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said.
“This could add an extra £833 to the average household’s annual grocery bill if consumers don’t shop in different ways,” he added.
Aldi alongside fellow discounter Lidl now account for 17.8 per cent of the market, with Aldi’s share at 10.1 per cent and Lidl at 7.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, as the nation crowned a new King, sales in Waitrose, a traditionally pricey retailer, was aided with a 4.8 per cent hike in sales over the twelve weeks, the highest rate of growth the retailer has achieved since April 2021.
McKevitt added: “Lots of people seem to have got into the spirit of the royal occasion, grabbing their chance to have a go at the official coronation recipe. Sales of ingredients like chilled pastry surged by 89 per cent, while fresh cream sales jumped by 80 per cent and frozen broad beans by 57 per cent.