Britain's 'big four' supermarkets losing market shares to Aldi and Waitrose

According to data from Kantar, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons saw their market share drop in…

According to data from Kantar, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons saw their market share drop in the 12 weeks to November 10 compared to the same period a year ago.

It is the first time since Kantar began collecting monthly market share data ten years ago that all the “big four” retailers have recorded a decline in market share.

Almost a third of British households visited a German-owned Aldi discount store in recent weeks according to the figures. At the same time sales of the big supermarkets' luxury ranges have all been growing fast as squeezed shoppers try to treat themselves without eating out.

While the figures reflect a pattern that has been in place for some months, it is the first time that Sainsbury's has joined its fellow retail behemoths in losing market share, days after chief executive Justin King commented about the supermarket's resilience to attacks from the discounters.

The Guardian quoted Edward Garner, a director at Kantar, as saying: "The number of shoppers visiting Aldi has grown by 16% year-on-year at the same time as the average basket size has swelled by nearly 15%."

Lidl saw sales growth of 13.8%. The two discounters have added nearly one percentage point of market share in the UK, bringing their total market share to nearly 7%.

The ‘big four’ are also losing out to premium retailers like Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. Waitrose’s sales increased 8.8% in the 12-week period.