|
1st April 2008
Growth at Grocery Multiples for the 12 weeks to 22nd March picked up to +7.9% YoY buoyed up by Mothering Sunday and Easter sales. Easter week itself (w/e 22/03/07) saw 18% YoY gains versus a non-Easter week last year but earlier on in the month weekly performances were more modest at +6.7% for w/e 8/03 and just +2.9% for w/e 15/3. As further evidence that seasonal strategies are proving ever important in this sector, strong sales were recorded for the week of Mothering Sunday (w/e 1/03) with double digit uplifts here also at +10% YoY.
Of the major retailers Morrisons has consolidated its position as fastest growing food retailer of 2008 with 11% YoY gains in the first quarter of the year, increasing its share further to 10.7%. Asda and Sainsbury both performed just ahead of market in this period with sales growths of 8.2% and 8% and Tesco, despite losing some share against this time last year, now have a stronger momentum with +7.3% Total Till growths.
Waitrose has also turned in a good performance in Q1 – again benefiting from the early Easter with sales increases of +8.7% YoY, resulting from consumer tendencies to trade-up for Seasonal shopping occasions.
On a category basis, Non-food has been the star performer in March with sales here +9% YoY. Figures suggest that strong performances in this sector have also contributed to the Tesco market share stabilising since Christmas at 29%.
Mike Watkins, Senior Manager Retailer Services at Nielsen commented, “Despite the wintery weather, the early Easter provided the grocery market with the verve it has been lacking so far this year. However, sales are still being driven by short term events and the traditional seasonal uplifts were in reality much more modest. With April devoid of bank holidays or special occasions and strong comparatives due to the warm Spring last year, I think we may see some challenging weeks ahead for some food retailers.”
He goes on to say, “The silver lining is the continued good growth of Non-Food sales and this should continue during 2008 as the Multiples expand into new categories and as Sainsbury and Morrisons extend their ranges - assuming of course that there is only a moderate downturn in discretionary consumer spend.”
Table 1: % Share of grocery market spend by Retailer
The figures in the table are based on 12 weeks sales through to 22nd March 2008 compared with the same 12 week period last year. Source: Nielsen Total Till, Nielsen Homescan
About Nielsen Homescan Total Till:
Unless otherwise stated, data is based on all purchases, bar-coded and non bar-coded, brought back into the home from any outlet by an in-home scanning panel of more than 14,500 households. Total spend includes all items stocked by any outlet, including grocery, durables and clothing
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com
Back to Top
|
