Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) and WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) sales growth continued to outpace the rest of the UK’s so-called ‘big four’ supermarkets in the 12 weeks to March 25, according to industry data.
Kantar Worldpanel said sales at Tesco and Morrisons both rose 2.5% in the period, compared to 0.6% growth at J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY) and a 1.8% increase at Asda.
Tesco held its market share of 27.6% while Morrisons stood at 10.4%. Sainsbury's and Asda both saw their market share decline by 0.2 percentage points (pts) to 15.6%.
Discounters continued to outperform the 'big four' with sales at Aldi and Lidl up 10.7% and 10.3% respectively.
Aldi increased market share by 0.5 pts to 7.3% and Lidl reached 5.3%.
“Aldi and Lidl are continuing to disrupt the market,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.
“As the discounters proceed with the expansion of their store portfolios, over the past 12 weeks 63.5% of all households visited at least one of the retailers.”
Grocery inflation eased back to 2.5% over the period from the 2.9% reported by Kantar in March.
An earlier Easter this year compared to last year boosted sales. Sales of Easter eggs jumped 69% compared to the same period a year ago and hot cross buns sales were £7.7mln higher on the year.
'Beast from the East' costs supermarkets £22mln
The ‘Beast from the East’, which brought snow and cold winds from Siberia to the UK, resulted in £22mln in lost sales as customers opted to stay warm at home rather than venture out to the shops.
Consumers made 5% fewer visits to the shops during the cold weather.
Shoppers bought 4% more items in the lead up to and during the cold snap with the average value of shopping baskets up to £15.80 from £14.99.
Warming foods and drinks were the most popular items during the icy weather with sales of hot beverages and tinned soup up 8.4% and 27.5% respectively over the past month.