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4th March 2008
Growth within total Grocery stood at +6.2% YoY in the 4 weeks to 23 rd February with like for like growth, at +4.2%* year on year, being one of the strongest performances seen in the past 12 months, according to the latest grocery retail performance analysis released today by market research company, Nielsen.
However these headline growths are lower than this time last year and are also down from +6.7% in January with the Impulse and Convenience sector achieving sales growths of less than 2% since Christmas.
Mike Watkins, senior manager retailer services at Nielsen comments, “Food inflation and marketing activity around seasonal events such as Valentine’s and Mothering Sunday has resulted in February trading staying solid in the grocery retail sector.” Category specific data corroborates this with inflationary gains in bakery (+12.3%) and dairy (+9.5%) driving growth alongside huge seasonal gains in snacks/confectionery (+15.3%).
He added, “The early Easter will provide further opportunity for retailers to build on recent momentum but they should be aware that consumers remain cautious and that price remains very much on the agenda. We report a slowdown in non-food sales in the Grocery Multiple sector with growths here (+5.2%) behind the market average and annual average for this category (+7.3%). This indicates that an element of consumer prudence is occurring around non-essential, discretionary spending.”
Nielsen’s total till monitor reports that Asda has gained share slightly in the last 12 weeks versus the same period last year and is currently growing at 6.6% YoY. Watkins observes, “I expect Asda to have a strong Easter. In the last 4 weeks we have seen shopper numbers grow at Asda by over half a million compared to last year. The retailer’s pricing message is proving effective in enticing shoppers into store and once there, shoppers are now finding a broader range of private label goods, in particular for premium and organic, which is appealing to the new shoppers.”
*Like for like data refers to Grocery Multiples
Table 1: % Share of grocery market spend by Retailer
| Retailer |
12w/e 24/02/07 |
12 w/e 23/02/08 |
Value Sales % Change |
| Tesco |
29.4 |
29 |
5.1 |
| Asda |
16.1 |
16.2 |
6.6 |
| Sainsbury |
15.4 |
15.4 |
6.5 |
| Morrisons |
10.3 |
10.6 |
10.1 |
| Total Co-op |
6.0 |
5.8 |
3.2 |
| Waitrose |
3.7 |
3.7 |
6.3 |
| Somerfield |
3.7 |
3.5 |
3.3 |
The figures in the table are based on 12 weeks sales through to
23rd February 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
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