Latest news with #McKevitt
Daily Record
18 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Supermarket essentials including butter, chocolate and meat continue to surge in price
Food price inflation rose to 4.7% in the four weeks to 15 June - the highest level since March - with some of the steepest increases hitting staple items A surge in the cost of staples like butter, chocolate, and meat is putting a strain on household grocery bills, despite supermarkets experiencing a surge in sales. According to Kantar, food price inflation rose to 4.7% in the four weeks ending June 15, with significant price increases for staples. Prices for chocolate, butters and spreads, and fresh meat have all risen, contributing to a 4.1% increase in total take-home grocery sales compared to the same period last year. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, commented: "Higher prices didn't stop shoppers making 490 million trips to the supermarket over the latest month, averaging almost 17 per British household. That's the highest we've recorded since March 2020." In response to the squeeze, shoppers are making more frequent visits but spending less per trip, with the average basket value decreasing slightly to £23.89. Mr McKevitt noted: "Consumer concerns over price are continuing, and this is reflected in the figures." "Sales of own-label ranges grew at 4.2% this month, ahead of branded lines, as shoppers looked to balance their budgets. Deals also remain an important tool for retailers to offer value and the proportion of spending on promotion stepped up to 28.8% this period." Despite stubbornly high food price inflation, not all retailers have seen a dip in sales. Tesco continues to lead the market, gaining 0.5 percentage points in market share to reach 28.1% – its highest for several years – with sales up by 7%. Lidl also had another strong month, with sales skyrocketing by 11.2%, marking its third consecutive month of double-digit growth. Its share now stands at 8.1%. Aldi saw a rise of 6.5% and holds 10.9% of the market. Online specialist Ocado was the fastest-growing supermarket overall, with a 12.2% surge in sales, driven by higher spending in wealthier postcodes across London and the South East. Meanwhile, M&S posted an impressive 12% rise in grocery sales – though it isn't included in Kantar's core grocery market share figures due to its broader focus on clothing and general merchandise. Fresh produce proved particularly popular amid the warmer weather. Sales of strawberries soared, with shoppers snapping up 2,400 packs every minute, while exotic fruits such as mangoes and blueberries climbed 27% and 10% respectively. However, overall grocery volumes fell slightly by 0.4% over the four-week period – the first such decline this year. Kantar believes this may be partly linked to the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic. Mr McKevitt elaborated: "Supermarkets and grocery brands are entering new territory as weight loss drugs become more popular, with four in 100 households in Great Britain now including at least one GLP-1 user." Four in five of the users we surveyed say they plan to eat fewer chocolates and crisps, and nearly three quarters intend to cut back on biscuits. ". In other news, Sainsbury's saw a sales increase of 5.7%, boosting its market share to 15.2%, while Waitrose reported its strongest performance since 2021, up by 5.5%. Morrisons experienced a growth of 2.2%, but Asda's sales dropped by 1.7%, continuing a trend of declining market share. This latest data emerges amidst growing frustration from consumers who have yet to feel the benefit of falling global food commodity costs. And with the prices of butter, chocolate and meat still on the rise, the weekly shop is likely to remain a key battleground for household budgets. Kantar's grocery inflation measure, considered the most authoritative snapshot of supermarket price rises, is based on over 75,000 identical products bought by British shoppers.
The Herald Scotland
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Food prices keep rising as consumers shop more for less
"Higher prices didn't stop shoppers making 490 million trips to the supermarket over the latest month, averaging almost 17 per British household," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar. "That's the highest we've recorded since March 2020." However, a rise in frequency was balanced out by a drop in average trip spend, which fell back by three pence to £23.89. Sales of own label ranges grew at 4.2%, ahead of branded lines, as shoppers looked to balance their budgets. The proportion of spending on promotional deals stepped up to 28.8% the period. Overall grocery volumes fell slightly by 0.4%, the first annual decline recorded this year. Mr McKevitt said a small part of this fall could be down to changing health priorities such as the growing use of GLP-1 weight loss drugs. 'Supermarkets and grocery brands are entering new territory as weight loss drugs become more popular, with four in 100 households in Great Britain now including at least one GLP-1 user," he said. "That's almost twice as many as last year so while it's still pretty low, it's definitely a trend that the industry should keep an eye on as these drugs have the potential to steer choices at the till. Four in five of the users we surveyed say they plan to eat fewer chocolates and crisps, and nearly three quarters intend to cut back on biscuits.' Fresh fruit sales were one of the biggest winners with consumers purchasing 2,400 packs of strawberries every minute during the four-week period. People also traded up to more exotic fruits with sales of mangoes and blueberries climbing by 27% and 10% each. Ocado was the fastest-growing grocer with sales up 12.2% during the 12 weeks to June 15, driven by more frequent visits to the online store and strong performance within its traditional heartlands of London and southern England. Ocado's market share now sits at 1.9%. Among bricks and mortar grocers, Lidl was the fastest growing at 11.2%, its third consecutive month of double-digit growth. Lidl's portion of the market reached 8.1%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points on this time last year. Fellow discounter Aldi increased its share to 10.9% as sales rose by 6.5%. Spending through the tills at Tesco accelerated to 7% as it recorded the highest share gain over the period of 0.5 percentage points, taking it to 28.1%. Sainsbury's' share also nudged up to 15.2% as sales grew by 5.7%. Morrisons now holds 8.4% of the market, with spending rising by 2.2%. Asda continued to struggle with sales through the tills 1.7% lower than a year earlier, though this was an improvement on recent performance. Its market share stands at 11.9%. Waitrose boosted its sales by 5.5%, the highest since March 2021, meaning it now holds a 4.5% share of the market. Scots tourism reports record year for international visits (Image:) The number of international visitors to Scotland increased again in 2024, as new figures show a record 4.4 million trips were made to the country last year – a 10% rise on 2023.
The Guardian
01-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
UK food inflation increases as shoppers buy Easter eggs early
Food inflation increased last month, driven by price rises in chocolate and confectionery, while Britons have already splashed out £134m on Easter eggs and other seasonal sweets despite the late fall of the holiday. Sales at the UK's main grocers rose 3.2%, just behind grocery inflation which rose to 3.5% in the month to 23 March. In the previous month inflation was 3.3%, according to the industry analysts Kantar. Despite Easter not falling until late April, significant numbers of consumers have begun shopping for chocolate eggs, while a third of households have bought hot cross buns. Fraser McKevitt, the head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said supermarkets were trying to tempt shoppers to spend by ramping up promotions to £2.6bn, almost 9% more than last year. Discounted goods accounted for 28.2% of the total industry sales – the highest proportion in four years. 'With prices continuing to rise, supermarkets are mindful of the need to invest to attract shoppers through their doors,' McKevitt said. While the number of people saying they are financially struggling has fallen in the past few years, having peaked at 27% in October 2022, almost a quarter (22%) of the country is still in that bracket. As the cost of key basics, such as butter, continues to increase, the rising cost of groceries ranks third on the list of households' concerns, just behind energy bills and the country's overall economic outlook. The cut-price supermarket Lidl was the fastest growing physical chain; its sales were up 9.1% in the three months to 23 March, taking its share of the market to 7.8%, less than 1 percentage point behind its bigger rival Morrisons. However, the upmarket online grocer Ocado increased sales by the most overall – up 11% to take 2% market share. Asda – the UK's third largest supermarket – was the only chain to post a sales fall. It was down 5.6%, lowering its share of the market by just over one percentage point year on year to 12.5%. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The fall does not indicate a strong start to Asda's plans to win back shoppers with lower prices. The chain's listed rivals – Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer – had £4bn wiped off their stock market values last month after Asda said that its profits were likely to decline this year as it invested more in cutting prices and putting more staff in shops. Its bigger rivals Tesco and Sainsbury's took big chunks of market share as they continued to grow strongly, as did Aldi – the UK's fourth largest grocer. Supermarket cafes are experiencing dwindling sales as shoppers try to keep a lid on their grocery bills. There were 200,000 fewer visitors to supermarket cafes over the course of the past year, according to Kantar. A number of retailers have been closing their cafes or bringing in outside operators to run them.
