Aldi and Lidl have lost ground in the battle for the nation’s shoppers as larger rivals such as Tesco launched a fightback.
The two budget supermarkets saw their market share slip very slightly in the 12 weeks to September 3, according to the latest data from retail data provider Kantar.
Aldi and Lidl’s rivals cut and froze prices in recent months in a bid to woo shoppers.
Kantar said grocery price inflation has fallen to 12.2 per cent – the lowest level for a year.
Although Aldi and Lidl hold onto a larger chunk of the market than a year ago, over the past three months they have lost some of these gains.
Price freeze:Tesco has seen its market share tick up from 27% to 27.2% in the 12 weeks to September 3 as it fought back against German discounters Aldi and Lidl
Kantar said Aldi’s slice of the market fell from 10.2 per cent to 10.1 per cent in the 12 weeks to September 3 while Lidl’s share slipped to 7.6p per cent from 7.7 per cent.
It was Aldi’s first decline this year and the first in seven months for Lidl.
Over the same period, Tesco saw its market share tick up from 27 per cent to 27.2 per cent and number two supermarket Sainsbury’s held firm at 14.8 per cent.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s account for more of the market than they did a year ago – making them the only traditional players to see annual growth alongside Aldi and Lidl.
Asda’s share of grocery spending edged up from 13.7 per cent to 13.8 per cent over the same 12 weeks but this remains below the 14.1 per cent of the market it controlled a year earlier.
Morrisons has 8.6 per cent of the market – down from 8.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to August 6 and 9.1 per cent a year ago – as its woes under private equity ownership continue.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘The big grocers have laced up their boxing gloves and got into the ring for a fresh round of price cuts, and the competition is becoming fiercer.’
Despite the fall in inflation in the aisles, prices remain far higher than a year ago, hitting millions in the pocket.
Kantar said 95 per cent of shoppers are worried about their shopping bills.
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