According to the latest Kantar grocery figures, shopping trips remained below pre-pandemic times as households made fewer visits to the supermarket.
Consumer data from Kantar showed that people were now using fewer different ingredients when making food, both at lunch and in the evening. Consumers were snacking less often, too, dropping more that 330 million occasions in 2024 versus 2020.
Grocery inflation now stands at 3.3% for the four-week period ending 23rd February 2025. Kantar found that prices were rising fastest in markets such as chocolate confectionary, chilled smoothies and juices, and butters and spreads. Take-home sales at the grocers rose by 3.6% over the four weeks to 23rd February compared with one year ago.
Sally Ball, head of retail at Kantar, commented: “Back in 2020, we didn’t know just how big an impact the Covid-19 pandemic would have on our lives, but five years on we can get a picture of its lingering effects on consumers. We haven’t gone back to old patterns and shopping trips remain below pre-pandemic times. Households made one less visit to the supermarket in February 2025 than in 2020, while online shopping appears to have stuck, taking a 12.3% market share this month versus 8.6% in February 2020.
“One of the most interesting changes has been a move to simpler eating habits as we look for convenient shortcuts to make our lives easier. People are taking less time to prepare meals, and prep time in the evening, for example, has declined from almost 34 minutes in 2020 to 31 minutes in 2024.”
“You might think that people would shop around more to find the best deals, but in fact, that’s not the case.”
Ball continued: “Of course, it’s hard to untangle the cost of living ‘crisis’ from any post-Covid analysis, and the other big headline of the past few years has been consumers’ hunt for value. You might think that people would shop around more to find the best deals, but in fact, that’s not the case. Households visited just under five different grocers this month, the lowest level in February since 2021. The growth of supermarket loyalty schemes is partly behind this as shoppers use them to unlock exclusive discounts.”
Retailer performance
Since Clubcard was introduced 30 years ago, Tesco has risen to become Britain’s largest grocer – up from second place 30 years ago. It now holds 28.3% of the market in the 12 weeks to 23rd February 2025, while its sales growth is at its highest since March 2024 at 5.8%.
Retailer promotions helped to hold grocery price inflation steady at 3.3% in February 2025, as spending on deals rose again. Items bought on offer now account for 27.6% of sales, a rise of 0.3% on last year. Premium own label lines also continue to be popular, growing at 13.3% this month, as people seek cost-effective ways to treat themselves.
Ocado was the fastest-growing retailer for the tenth consecutive month with spending increasing by 9.6% – holding its share of the market at 1.9%. M&S has also continued its growth trajectory with grocery sales climbing by 12.2% across its bricks-and-mortar stores.
Aldi accelerated its growth by attracting 377,000 more shoppers through its doors. The retailer achieved a market share of 10.3% following a 4.9% rise in sales – its highest rate since January 2024. Lidl has also seen its portion of the market rise by 0.3% to 7.3% compared with February 2024, with sales up by 8.1%.
Sainsbury’s made gains in the 12 weeks to 23rd February, increasing its share of the market from 15.5% to 15.7% compared to this time last year. Morrisons now holds 8.6% of the market while Asda has 12.6%.
Convenience retailer Co-op remained in growth, giving it a market share of 5.1%. Waitrose’s sales increased by 3.2%, helped by almost 200,000 additional shoppers. Spending at frozen food specialist Iceland was 0.7% higher, maintaining a share of 2.3% – the same as this time last year.
