Aldi and Lidl join other discount supermarkets to gain from the financial downtown

As family budgets are slashed, discount supermarkets such as Aldi, Lidl and Netto are cashing in on their reputation for selling grocery items at marked down prices.

According to the survey, the total discounter sector (which comprises Aldi, Lidl and Netto) now represents a record 6.2% of the grocery market share for the 12 weeks ending 2 November 2008. Aldi’s year-on-year growth has hit a record 23.9%, with Lidl at 11%.

Discount frozen food retailers Iceland and Farm Foods also experienced double digit growth of 10.9% and 22.4% respectively. ASDA and Morrisons, which also have a reputation for low prices, are both out-performing the market with growth rates of 9.0% and 9.4% respectively.

Meanwhile, upmarket grocer Waitrose has seen its growth rate fall back progressively for the last eight months and now stands at just 1.3% year-on-year growth.

‘Put simply, retailers with a strong price positioning are continuing to benefit whereas the premium end of the market is clearly under increasing pressure,’ said Ed Garner, director of research at TNS Worldpanel.

In total, the entire supermarket sector grew by 6.6% in the 12 weeks ending 2 November 2008. Tesco fell slightly beneath this figure at 5.4% and its market share has slipped by 0.4% year-on-year to 30.9%.