Aldi is rapidly closing in on struggling Asda in the race to be Britain’s third biggest supermarket behind Tesco and Sainsbury’s, latest figures show today.
Data from analysts Kantar for March showed that the German discounter hit a record 11% market share of Britain’s grocery sector as it prepares to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the opening of its first UK store in Stechford, Birmingham, on 5 April 1990.
Its sales have grown by 5.6% over the past year, the fastest rate since January.
Meanwhile Asda’s market share slumped from 13.6% last year to 12.5% in March with sales down 5.6%.
The latest Kantar figures also showed that spending on promotions reached the highest level for four years, making up 28.2% of all grocery sales and representing £2.6 billion of of price cuts
Sales at the grocers increased by 1.8% over the four weeks to 23 March 2025 compared with one year ago – the slowest rate since June last year. Grocery price inflation rose slightly to 3.5% over the same period.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “With prices continuing to rise, supermarkets are mindful of the need to invest to attract shoppers through their doors.
Promotional sales ramped up this month to 28.2% of total grocery spending, the highest level we’ve seen in March for four years.”
Retailers' price cuts were responsible for £2.6 billion of promotional spending, 8.8% more than the same time last year and significantly higher than the £686 million spent on multibuy deals and ‘extra free’ offers.
McKevitt added: “Despite the recent surge, we’re still some way off the promotional records hit in the wake of the financial crisis. Average spending on deal in 2012 was 39.8%, meaning there could still be more headroom to go.
“However, the market has changed a lot in that time, with the discounters holding a far higher share today than they did 13 years ago.
“While the number of people reported as financially struggling has fallen from its recent peak*, this still accounts for almost a quarter (22%) of the country. The rising cost of groceries ranks third on the list of concerns keeping consumers awake at night, just behind energy bills and the country’s overall economic outlook.”
Despite Easter not falling until late April, sales of chocolate eggs and other seasonal confectionery totalled £134 million last month, while hot cross buns were bought by over a third of households.
Ocado was again the fastest growing grocer, a position it has held for the last 11 months, as its sales increased by 11.2%. For the first time, the online retailer took a 2% portion of the market. Spending on groceries at M&S increased by 13.1%, on top of M&S goods sold through Ocado.
Tesco boosted spending through its tills by 5.4%, nearly half a billion pounds more than the same period a year ago. Britain’s largest grocer made the biggest share gain, with its portion climbing from 27.3% to 27.9%.
Sainsbury’s reached 35 consecutive periods of year-on-year growth, with sales up by 4.1% as it grew ahead of the market. Its share nudged up to 15.2%.
