Skip to content

UK shoppers head to Aldi and Lidl amid cost of living squeeze

UK customers are choosing the discount stores in increasing numbers because the price of food is reaching its highest in the past decade amid an ever-growing cost of living.

Aldi has taken the largest share of the market for groceries in the past few months and Lidl was able to match its previous record in price increases for groceries, which reached 5.2 percentage in March, which was the highest ever since the beginning of April, as per the most recent data from analysts at Kantar.

Lidl has confirmed its position as the sixth-largest UK supermarket chain ahead of Co-op with 6.4 percent market share. Aldi was at 8.6 percent, just one percent less than the UK’s fourth largest chain, Morrisons. Click here for Lidl near me.

Kantar stated that prices were rising the fastest in pet foods and snacks, like crisps, while decreasing for other items like bacon that is fresh.

The rise in food prices, fueled by the price hikes of staple commodities like cooking oil and wheat along with energy and food packaging are forcing consumers to alter their lifestyles as prices rise into the shelves of supermarkets. With the headline inflation rate for consumer prices being at 6.2 percent – the highest rate in the past three decades – households with tight budgets are looking for ways to cut costs on their basic essentials.

Consumers are increasingly turning to the supermarket’s own-label products instead of well-known brands, with more than half of the money spent on such products 50.6%. 50.6 percent, an increase from less than half of a year earlier.

Making your own pasta is a trend that grew in popularity in those Covid lockdowns, appears to be more popular with the amount of flour sold increasing by 28% in March 2019 and sales of dry pasta up 17% over levels prior to the pandemic.

Fraser McKevitt, the head of consumer insight and retail at Kantar McKevitt stated: “More and more we’re going to see customers and retailers adopt measures to control the rising costs of shopping baskets.”

Aldi as well as Lidl were the sole major chains that saw sales rise during the 12 weeks from 20 March. They had recovered from a slump in the initial phase of the pandemic , when there was greater demand for deliveries to homes and less interest in shopping.

Morrisons as well Asda were the worst hit by the shift in habits, and could end up losing sales as customers who are looking for bargains turned to Morrisons and Asda While Tesco was the most successful of the big chains, sales were falling 5.2 percent over the three months.

Total spending in supermarkets decreased by 6.3 percent during the 12 weeks from 20 to March, as compared to the same period one year earlier in the wake of the return to work and the reopening of bars, restaurants, and cafes decreased the demand for cooking at home.

Independent retailers were among the largest losers selling less, dropping 13.4 percent as customers returned to the big chains following an increase in local shopping during lockdowns.