Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) emerged as the winner in the latest supermarket data stakes on Wednesday.
Shares in the supermarket group rose as it racked up the smallest fall in sales among the UK’s “big four” chains in the 12 weeks to May 22, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel.
Tesco’s sales fell 1%, versus a 1.2% drop for J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY), a 2.1% retreat for WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) and a 5.1% decline for Asda, owned by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc (NYSE:WMT).
Tesco has struggled to combat competition from discounters and has launched a recovery drive under new chief executive Dave Lewis.
Kantar director Edward Garner said the big four remained under pressure with sales falling at each retailer during the period.
But he added: “Tesco saw signs of stabilising in comparison to historic declines over the past two years, showing the smallest drop in sales of 1%.”
Tesco's shares rose 0.8% to 166.4p, Sainsbury's fell 2.4% to 262p and Morrison's backtracked 0.9% to 196.5p.
Garner said Sainsbury’s 1.2% sales decline – causing a drop in its market share to 16.2% – was driven by fewer pack sales, which is the short-term result of shifting its promotional emphasis from multi-pack deals to straightforward price cuts.
He added: “Asda’s low-price positioning continues to feel the targeted effect of Aldi and Lidl’s growth – sales fell 5.1% on last year, giving it a 15.8% share of the market - while Morrisons continues to be affected by store disposals.”
The Kantar numbers showed Lidl and Aldi remained the fastest growing retailers – up 14.2% and 11.4% respectively.
Waitrose achieved a record share of the grocery market of 5.3%, boosting sales by 2.1%. The Co-operative continued its recent strong run, increasing sales by 3.3% for the second period in a row to achieve a market share of 6.2%.
Garner said: “While the big four are struggling to keep their market share, what’s clear is that consumers aren’t flocking away from their stores – their combined shopper numbers have dropped only 0.2% in the latest 12 weeks.
“In fact, 94% of Aldi and Lidl shoppers still visit at least one of the four major retailers every four weeks.
“However, consumers’ spend is increasingly being shared with other growing outlets which also include Waitrose, the Co-op and Iceland and average household spend for the big four has dropped by 2.9%.”