Grocery shopping costs £571 more on average annually than last year leading to shoppers switching to own brands and using discount supermarkets more.
Inflation for essential shopping hit 12.4% in August, a jump of 1.2% from July's then record-breaking 11.6%. It means a customer buying the same products will pay £5,183 a year for groceries, up from £4,610 this time last year.
Milk, butter and dog food are rising in price quickly, at 31%, 25% and 29% respectively. With customers tightening their belts during the cost of living crisis, Aldi's market share has risen, with sales increasing by 18.7% in the three months to September 4. Its 9.3% market share now makes it Britain's fourth biggest supermarket, overtaking Morrisons.
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Aldi's fellow discounter and traditional rival, Lidl increased sales by 20.9% and its market share to 7.1%.
Additionally, sales of the very cheapest own-label value products are up by 33% on a year ago, with almost one in four baskets containing one of these lines. Overall spending on all retailer own-label lines was £393m higher during the latest four weeks, pushing their share of the market to 51.1%.
Take-home grocery sales increased by 3.8% over the quarter – the third month of growth in a row after more than a year of decline as a consequence of comparisons with the pandemic.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “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.
“In what is a fiercely competitive sector, supermarkets are reacting to make sure they’re seen to acknowledge the challenges consumers are facing and offer best value, in particular by expanding their own-label ranges.”
He added: “Back at the start of the 2010s, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons together accounted for over three-quarters of the sector but that traditional big four is no more.
“The discounters have seen dramatic sales increases in recent months, bringing more and more customers through their doors. Aldi has done well to expand its shopper base, supported by consistent store openings, and with 14.2 million consumers visiting the grocer in the past three months.
“Meanwhile, for the fourth month in a row Lidl was the fastest-growing grocer and recorded its strongest sales performance since October 2014.”
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