German discounters Aldi and Lidl have lost market share for the first time in months after British supermarkets launched a price war counter offensive.
Aldi lost ground in the 12 weeks to September 3, new figures from Kantar show, marking its first decline in market share this year.
Meanwhile, Lidl has lost market share for the first time in seven months.
It follows a flurry of price cuts from traditional supermarkets, as they race to stop shoppers switching.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s were the fastest growing traditional supermarkets over the period after both ramped up loyalty schemes and unveiled reductions.
The figures from Kantar showed grocery price inflation dropped to its lowest level in over 12 months but it’s no cause for celebration, the market research firm said.
Kantar said food price inflation cooled to 12.2% in the four weeks to 3 September, the sixth monthly fall in a row.
Take-home sales from the grocers rose by 7.4% compared with the same period in 2022, a slight increase on the 6.5% growth reported last month.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar said the figures will not be “a number to celebrate for many households.”
“Our data shows that 95% of consumers are still worried about the impact of rising grocery prices, matched only by their concern about energy bills,” he added.
Sainsbury’s and Tesco were the fastest growing traditional retailers this month, growing sales by 9.1% and 9.3% respectively.
Tesco’s share now stands at 27.2%, up by 0.3 percentage points from last year, and Sainsbury’s at 14.8%, up by 0.2 percentage points.
Aldi’s sales were up 17% in the year to September 3, Kantar figures showed, whilst Lidl’s were up 16%.
Both figures were slower than the 20% year-on-year growth recorded by the pair last month.
Asda’s market share is at 13.8% and Morrisons’ 8.6%, with sales up by 5.1% and 2.0% respectively.
Waitrose’s growth accelerated to 5.6% this month, meaning that the retailer now holds 4.6% of the market.
Ocado also saw sales increasing faster than last month, with growth now at 4.3% and market share at 1.6%.