Kantar Worldpanel: Sainsbury market share tops UK grocers

The latest grocery share figures from market research company Kantar Worldpanel, for the 12 weeks ended March 17th 2013, show that Sainsbury's is the clear winner among the big four, while elsewhere Waitrose and Aldi recorded the two highest percentage growth rates this period.

Fraser McKevitt, a Retail Analyst at Kantar Worldpanel, said: "Sainsbury's year-on-year growth of 6.2% firmly beats the total market growth of 3.9%. Since 2004, its annual share has been on a rising trend and now stands at 16.8% for the 52 weeks ending March 17th."

Fraser continued: "Austerity and provenance are the key factors behind the varying retailer performances this month. Continued pressure on household budgets has helped Aldi, Lidl and Iceland to record market beating growths while Waitrose and Sainsbury's have managed to mostly avoid adverse media coverage from the horsemeat scandal."

The company's research also showed that grocery inflation stood at 4.2% for the 12 week period ending March 17th 2013. This remained higher than the market growth of 3.9% and Kantor Worldpanel said this reflected shoppers' coping mechanisms, such as switching products and retailers and seeking out offers.

Sainsbury's share price was up 0.03% to 375.10p at 13:21 on Tuesday.

MF