Aldi saw its market share suffer a rare reverse in the last quarter, while Lidl, M&S and Ocado snapped up its losses, industry data revealed.
In the three months to April 20, 2024, Aldi saw its portion of the industry slip backwards from 10.8% in 2023 to 10.4%, NIQ data showed.
Mike Watkins at NIQ said: “The early Easter brought forward some spending to March so weekly growths in April were impacted. This in turn exaggerated some of the slowdown in growth which we were already seeing.”
Meanwhile, its fellow German discounter Lidl lifted its market share to 8.2%, while Ocado and M&S saw theirs edge slightly higher.
It comes after Aldi experienced a weak 1.3% jump in sales compared to Lidl’s 9.5% rise, however, both held onto their positionings as the fourth and sixth largest supermarkets respectively.
Earlier this week, Lidl said it would be expanding its estate in the UK by opening hundreds of new supermarkets, aiming to take its portfolio from 960 stores to 1,100.
Tesco and Sainsbury maintained their spots as the top two grocers, with the two experiencing sales growth of 6.6% and 5.8%, respectively.
Asda, which continues to struggle under its debt-heavy structure, saw sales drop 0.9%, adding to mounting concerns that Aldi could permanently overtake it as the third-largest supermarket.