Take-home grocery sales rose by 4.8% in the 12 weeks to 2 October 2022 but grocery price inflation has hit another new peak now standing at 13.9%, according to figures from Kantar.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “The cost-of-living crisis is still hitting people hard at the checkouts and this latest data will make tough reading for many.”
“Based on our numbers, the average household is facing a £643 jump in their annual grocery bill to £5,265 if they continue to buy the same items. Taking that at a basket level, that’s an extra £3.04 on top of the cost of the average shopping trip last year which was £21.89.”
Kantar said consumers continue to look at ways of managing their budgets with sales of supermarket own label lines continuing to grow. Own label sales increased by 8.1%, while branded items declined by 0.7%.
Sales of “wonky veg” also rose with sales of ranges like Tesco Perfectly Imperfect or Morrisons Naturally Wonky up collectively by 38% this month.
Another standout feature was an 18% surge in marmalade sales as the nation paid its respects to the Queen.
With an eye on rising energy bills, shoppers were also on the lookout for cheaper ways to cook with sales of slow cookers, air fryers and sandwich makers up by 53%.
For the fifth month in a row, Lidl was the fastest-growing grocer this period, pushing up its sales by 20.9% over the 12 weeks, marginally ahead of Aldi whose sales rose by 20.7%. Lidl’s share of the market is now 7.1%, up from 6.2% last year while Aldi moved to 9.3% from 8.0%.
McKevitt said: “Asda led the way among the biggest traditional supermarkets, boosting sales by 4.5%.driven by the success of new Just Essentials range.”
Sales at J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) rose by 3.0% and at Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) by 2.5%, while Wm Morrison Supermarkets saw sales fall by 3.9%.
Both Iceland and the Ocado retail joint venture between Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) and Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) grew by 5.3%, slightly ahead of the market to maintain their market shares at 2.3% and 1.6% respectively.
Convenience retailer Co-op also held market share flat year-on-year at 6.4%, with its sales growing by 3.3%. Waitrose’s market share is now 4.7%.