Premium own brand label ranges are pushing up sales for the UK’s biggest supermarkets in the run-up to Christmas, as the sector looks set for another tough year.
Shoppers are spending 13 percent more on premium own brand lines than they did last year, including Tesco’s Finest range and Lidl’s Deluxe, according to the new figures from Kantar Worldpanel. Top-tier private label found their way into 12 percent of shopping trips, with 88 percent of consumers now buying from these lines.
Morrisons’ The Best range fared particularly well, seeing a 35 percent increase over the 12 weeks to 4th December, with Asda Extra Special also growing by 15 percent.
These figures a set against a backdrop of continued deflation, with shoppers paying less for a representative basket of groceries than they did in 2015, marking the 29th consecutive period of grocery price deflation. Competition in the supermarket sector remains tough, with year-on-year sales increasing by just 0.7 percent.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, commented:
“Over Christmas it’s likely that premium lines will record their highest ever sales figures as even more shoppers trade up to treat their loved ones.
“Despite widespread anticipation of higher prices shoppers are yet to feel the pinch of rising inflation, with a typical basket of everyday groceries 0.1 percent cheaper than this time last year.”
Aldi was the only retailer to record double-digit sales growth over the past 12 weeks: its premium Specially Selected brand helped the discounter increase sales by 10.0 percent year on year, increasing its shares of the grocery market by 0.6 percentage points to 6.2 percent.
Tesco also saw stronger growth, with particularly in the meat and fresh produce categories. Its value sales remain ahead of the market, increasing by 1.6 percent year on year as the retailer grew its market share to 28.3 percent. In comparison, sales at Sainsbury’s fell by 0.6 percent, with market share down 0.2 percentage points to 16.5 percent, while Asda saw sales fall by 4.7 percent at a marginally slower rate than in recent months.
Shares in Tesco (LON:TSCO) are down 1.74 percent to 209.15, with with Morrisons (LON:MRW) up 0.98 percent at 227.20 (0909GMT).