Lidl has quietly edged ahead of Morrisons to become Britain’s fifth biggest supermarket for food and drink. It’s the first time Morrisons has dropped below the top five since Kantar Worldpanel began tracking supermarket sales data in the UK.
Figures released this week show Lidl now claims a 7.7% share of the food and drink market, just above Morrisons on 7.6%.
The numbers reflect sales up to 13 July, highlighting how the German discounter’s mix of low prices and rapid store openings continues to win over British shoppers.
According to industry analysts, Lidl’s food sales jumped by more than 10% over the period. Morrisons’ sales also grew, albeit by a much more modest 1.5%.
To be clear, these figures don’t include things like petrol or non-food items you might pick up in the same shop. If you look at overall grocery market share, including non-food, Morrisons still has a slight edge – 8.4% compared to Lidl’s 8.3% according to Kantar’s broader ‘till-roll’ data.
A spokesperson for Morrisons acknowledged the shift, stating that the change is partly due to Lidl’s rapid pace of store openings. They also pointed out that some of their growth, "the numbers are partly a function of new supermarket openings, where we haven’t added new space for some time, and the survey doesn’t capture all of the growth we are seeing in convenience and wholesale, and our Myton manufacturing business,” they said.
The new ranking comes just three years after Aldi leapfrogged Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth-largest grocer.
Lidl, which is set to open its 1,000th UK store this autumn, is advancing plans to reach 1,500 sites nationwide.
For shoppers, this means even more competition on price and range, as supermarket chains work harder than ever to keep customers through their doors.
