Morrisons looks set to lose its place as the UK's fourth biggest supermarket, as German discounter Aldi continues to snap at its heels.
Bargain-hunting shoppers have been deserting the Bradford-based retailer in their droves as the cost of living crisis bites, with sales falling faster than at rivals Sainsbury's and Asda.
The latest Kantar grocery market figures for the three months to July 11 show that Aldi is just a whisker away from knocking Morrisons out of the Big Four of Britain’s leading supermarkets, a spot that it has occupied since taking over Safeway in 2004. The figures show that Morrisons sales fell 6.7%, from £3bn to £2.8bn, against Sainsbury’s and Asda 's falls of around two per cent.
Tesco, which occupies the Big Four's top spot, managed to cling on to a slight rise, of 0.1 per cent, in the same period, but this was a drop in the ocean compared to Lidl’s sales, which rocketed by 13.9% and Aldi's which went up by 11.3%. The hike in sales means that the German discounters now have a massive 16.1% of the overall market, boosted by families leaving the Big Four as they look for ways to cut the cost of their weekly grocery shop.
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Aldi now takes up 9.1% of the overall grocery market, which is just 0.3 percentage points behind Morrisons. Last year, Morrisons had a 10.1% share and Aldi 8.2%, a gap of 1.9 percentage points. Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said more than 67% of shoppers used a Lidl or Aldi in the past three months, an increase of more than 1.4m households compared to the same time last year.
Last month, Kantar figures predicted Aldi would overtake Morrisons by next June. Lidl is the fastest-growing supermarket and is expected to overtake Morrisons in roughly four-and-a-half years if Morrisons' sales fall continues. In Europe, discounters traditionally account for 20% of the grocery retail market, so there could still be a larger share to be grabbed by Lidl and Aldi in the future.
Aldi opened its first UK supermarket in Birmingham in 1990, and now has nearly 1,000 stores throughout the UK. Four years later, Birmingham also saw the first UK Lidl store. The chain now has around 800 stores in the UK. At first, German discounters were viewed with suspicion by UK shoppers, who were used to the Big Four, but growth has has seen market share increase, with both Aldi and Lidl becoming increasingly popular due to the cost of living crisis.
Both chains have plans for expansion in the UK, with Aldi adding a further 100 stores to its UK chain by 2023 and Lidl on track for 1,100 stores by the end of 2025.
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