Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) and Waitrose were the only two grocery retailers to boost shopper numbers during the first quarter as inflation eased, Kantar research revealed on Tuesday.
Ocado enjoyed a 9.5% jump in sales over the three months to March, the research found, ahead of the wider online market, which saw growth of 6.6%.
John Lewis Partnership-owned Waitrose saw sales climb by 3.9% over the period meanwhile, against overall market growth of 4.6%.
“[Ocado] was the only grocer other than Waitrose to boost its number of shoppers in the latest three months,” Kantar reported, with both outdoing discounter Aldi’s 3.1% increase in sales.
This came as grocery price inflation subsided to a two-year low of 4.5% in March, compared to 5.3% in February and 17% a year ago.
Ocado and Waitrose's gains coincided with a resurgence of demand for branded and, in particular, premium own-labelled goods in the four weeks to March 17, the report found.
Branded goods sales were up 6.1%, against 4.7% growth of own-label products. Premium own-branded goods saw sales jump by 16.1% in the meantime.
“Premium own-label lines have been a big beneficiary of consumers trading down,” Kantar commented, as shoppers continue to seek cheaper options.
Indeed, discounter price-match deals featured heavily in consumers’ baskets at Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO), J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) and Asda, accounting for items in one of three shops.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s saw sales climb by 5.8% and 6.7% respectively over the first quarter, with this sitting at 3.6% at Wm Morrison Supermarkets and 0.2% at Asda.
"Almost one in four UK households are still struggling financially because of the cumulative impact of multiple years of rapid price increases since the pandemic," analyst Victoria Scholar at Interactive Investor noted, however.
"While grocery inflation is certainly slowing, prices on average are still going up, which is hurting individuals and families."