UK grocery inflation jumps to highest level in 15 months
Shoppers are increasingly searching out discount deals and turning to supermarket own-label products to help manage their budgets, according to analysts at Kantar, as the pace of price rises stepped up from the 3.8% reported in April.
Fraser McKevitt, the head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: 'Households have been adapting their buying habits to manage budgets for some time, but we typically see changes in behaviour once inflation tips beyond the 3% to 4% point as people notice the impact on their wallets more.'
The discounter chains benefited from the search for bargains, with Aldi and Lidl enjoying their strongest period of combined growth since January 2024 at 8.4%.
Lidl's sales rose almost 11%, making it the fastest growing physical grocer, to reach a new market share high of 8.1% – putting it within a whisker of overtaking Morrisons to become the UK's fifth largest supermarket.
The chain drew 419,000 extra shoppers through its doors compared with last year – the most of any retailer.
Aldi also reached a record high share of the market at 11.1% after sales rose 6.7%, its fastest growth rate since the start of last year.
In contrast, Asda continued to struggle, remaining the only supermarket with falling sales and market share falling to 12.1%. Despite its best performance in a year, in which sales fell 3.2%, the chain's market share fell to 12.1%, only one percentage point more than Aldi.
The chain was outperformed by the upmarket rival Marks & Spencer, where spending on groceries rose by 12.3% despite its recent difficulties caused by a cyber-attack.
The Co-op increased its sales by 0.6% despite similar problems that have hit the availability of products in stores.
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Overall spending rose slightly ahead of inflation as shoppers snapped up burgers, salads and coleslaw during the hottest ever start to May.
McKevitt said: 'We've been firing up the barbecues a bit earlier than last year, with chilled burgers flying off the shelves and sales growing by 27%.'
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