Aldi overtakes Morrisons to become fourth biggest…

Aldi overtakes Morrisons to become fourth biggest supermarket in the UK

Discount supermarket Aldi has become Britain's fourth largest supermarket for the first time, figures show.

This means that the shop has now overtaken Morrisons who previously held the title as part of the 'Big Four'.

The news comes amid the cost of living crisis which has seen the likes of energy bills soar with shoppers also seeing a sharp rise.

According to the BBC, research firm Kantar have said that food price inflation hit a record 12.4 per cent in August and now shoppers are looking at ways to get more for their money with many budgeting as costs rise.

Some of the most popular items that have seen the quickest rise is milk, butter and dog food. And with rising costs, Kantar have predicted that these increases will push up the average annual grocery bill by £571 to £5,181.

Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt explained: "It seems there's no end in sight to grocery inflation as the rate at which food and drink prices are increasing continues to accelerate.

"Shoppers are taking steps to manage their budgets including broadening the range of stores they visit, with the discount grocers benefiting."

Kantar said that Aldi's sales rose by almost a fifth in the 12 weeks to September 4 compared with a year earlier, giving it a market share of 9.3 per cent. Meanwhile Morrisons' sales dropped by 4.1 per cent over the same period, with its market share falling to 9.1 per cent. The supermarket said the market share was "partly a function of new store openings".

Aldi UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley said shoppers were "voting with their feet by choosing Aldi over full price traditional supermarkets", adding that "although Morrisons has not put on any significant new space for a while, some competitors are still opening many new stores".

It added that "customers don't really care about market share statistics - they care about value, quality, provenance and service and that is where our focus is going to remain."