Supermarket sales grow by 3.6pc

Supermarket sales have grown 3.6 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to new grocery market figures by Kantar Worldpanel. The results are based on the 12 weeks to 10 September 2017.

This is the sixth month in a row which has demonstrated sales growth of more than 3 per cent.

“We haven’t seen sustained market growth of this kind since May 2013,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel. A 1.5 per cent increase in the volume of goods going through the tills has contributed to this growth while the remainder of the overall sales increase is down to higher prices.

“Like-for-like grocery inflation now stands at 3.2 per cent, slightly ahead of the headline CPI rate and down 0.1 percentage points on last month. The average British household spends almost £4,200 in the grocers each year so a fall in inflation, which we expect to see as we approach the end of the year, will be a welcome relief.

“Disappointing August weather – even allowing for the mini-heatwave over the bank holiday – meant a difficult month for traditional summer categories. Sales of prepared salad fell 6 per cent while both scotch eggs and sun care were down 16 per cent. In contrast the public spent almost £4 million on cold treatments in August – an increase of almost £2 million on that spent in the same month last year.”

Lidl was the fastest growing retailer, experiencing a sales increase of 19.2 per cent.

“Collectively Aldi and Lidl now account for nearly £1 in every £8 spent in Britain’s supermarkets – a decade ago this was only £1 in £25,” said McKevitt. “In the past three months almost 63 per cent of shoppers visited one of the two retailers, up from a level of 58.5 per cent last year.”

However, 98 per cent of households still shopped in at least one of the traditional big four retailers over the same three-month period.