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

theguardian.com:

UK shoppers are choosing to shop at discount supermarkets in greater numbers as grocery price inflation reaches the highest level in a decade amid a mounting cost of living crisis.

Aldi grabbed its biggest share of the grocery market to date and Lidl matched its previous peak as grocery price inflation reached 5.2% in March, the highest level since April 2012, according to the latest figures from analysts Kantar.

Lidl confirmed its spot as the UK’s sixth largest supermarket chain ahead of the Co-op with 6.4% market share while Aldi reached 8.6%, less than 1% behind the UK’s fourth largest chain, Morrisons.

Kantar said prices were rising fastest for pet food and savoury snacks, such as crisps, but were still falling for some products such as fresh bacon.

Food price inflation, fuelled by the rising cost of basic commodities such as wheat and cooking oil as well as energy and packaging, is forcing shoppers to change their habits as price rises filter through to supermarket shelves. With headline consumer price inflation running at 6.2% – the highest level in three decades – families on tight budgets are seeking ways to save on basic necessities.

Shoppers are increasingly turning to supermarkets’ own-label goods rather than well-known brands with more than half of spending on such items – 50.6% – up from just under half a year ago.

Cooking from scratch, which rose in popularity during the Covid lockdowns, also appears to have remained more prevalent with the volume of flour sold up 28% on March 2019 while dry pasta sales are up 17% on pre-pandemic levels.

Fraser McKevitt, the head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “More and more we’re going to see consumers and retailers take action to manage the growing cost of