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Sales of fresh fruit and vegetables soar 13.5% and household products sales up 8.4%
OXFORD UK, October 17th 2006
Unprecedented October temperatures may have dissuaded consumers from adding to their Autumn wardrobe but food and grocery sales continue to be holding up well, according to the latest grocery share of trade figures from ACNielsen. Tesco enjoyed its most robust twelve week period of the year with double digit growth rate of 10.2% compared to the same period last year.
“For the first time this year Tesco’s has recorded double digit growth rate over a twelve week period which demonstrates their strength and sustainability to grow in their home market,” said Mike Watkins, Senior Manager, Retailer Services. Nearly sixty percent of all UK households visited a Tesco supermarket in the past month according to ACNielsen.
Though Asda remains at the number 2 spot, there are clear signs of Sainsbury’s continued recovery. Their strong trading results suggest that this retailer has not only attracted new customers into store but has changed how people spend when shopping in Sainsbury’s. Mike Watkins, Senior Manager, Retailer Services at ACNielsen, said “The strong push by all retailers on health, well being and most recently the provenance of food is benefiting Sainsbury’s”
ACNielsen Homescan numbers for the UK grocery share market for the twelve week period ending 7th October 2006 showed that Tesco took 29.3% of the market, followed by Asda in second place at 15.4% and fast growing Sainsbury’s at 14.5% (see table) “Again, Sainsbury’s total sales continued to grow faster than Asda versus 2005. Sainsbury’s emphasis on ‘freshness and wellness’ is pushing all the right buttons with consumers and it will be interesting to see the impact of Asda’s extended organic range on their customers shopping habits ” said Watkins.
Retailer |
1st October 2005 |
7th October 2006 |
| Tesco |
28.4% |
29.3% |
Asda |
15.6% |
15.4% |
Sainsbury’s |
14.3% |
14.5% |
Morrisons |
11.2% |
10.5% |
Total Co-op |
6.2% |
6.4% |
Somerfield |
4.2% |
4.3% |
Waitrose |
3.4% |
3.5% |
The figures in the table are based on 12 weeks sales through to 7th October 2006 compared to the same 12 week period last year.
With Like for Like sales growths reported by Sainsbury’s at 6.5% in the 16 weeks to 7th October, Sainsbury’s are currently outperforming the Grocery Multiples benchmark of 4.8% for Like for Like sales over this period (source: ACNielsen Scantrack ).
Watkins went on to say “This year looks like the year when ethical retailing becomes mainstream and it’s clear that Sainsbury’s have successfully translated consumer interest into incremental sales” He adds “Two thirds of shoppers prefer to buy foods that are natural and almost 80% now buy organic food and with a 15.5% share of Grocery sales Sainsbury’s have the scale and heritage to deliver on these customer needs”
Sales of fresh fruit and vegetables have increased 13.5% YOY – the largest increase of any food and non food category. “The healthy food and living trend is one of the most significant consumer lifestyle trends in recent years and supermarkets have profitably expanded their fresh fruit and vegetable ranges to cater to consumer demand,” said Watkins. After fruit and vegetables household products are the second fastest growing category at 8.4% year on year.
Following the strong sales in June and July, Back to School promotions in August and the upward movement of many Grocery prices into September, business is good for food retailers and the outlook continues to be positive as the Christmas promotional campaigns begin in earnest.
About ACNielsen 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 10,000 households. Total spend includes all items stocked by any outlet, including grocery, durables and clothing.
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