A report by GlobalData suggests that the food and grocery market in the UK will be worth £174.5bn by 2024, with the ‘big four’ supermarkets set to lose out on a further £1.9bn of the total market.

The company’s latest report, ‘UK: Food & Grocery 2019-2024’, reveals that while the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and ASDA are forecasted to grow by 12.6%, discount stores and product specific retailers will continue to attract customers as they continue to shop for food online.

Thomas Brereton, retail analyst at GlobalData, commented: “The recent set of supermarket Christmas trading results shows that UK shoppers still have an unsatisfied appetite for the proposition of the discounters; Lidl performed especially admirably, growing year-on-year sales 11% in December. While there is evidence of a slowdown in like for like sales growth at Aldi and Lidl, both retailers still have substantial expansion plans for the UK – particularly within the M25 – over the next few years.

“The rise of these value operators has significantly impacted the market share of the Big Four, declining from 57.9% in 2010 to 51.0% in 2020 and expected to reduce a further percentage point by 2024. To help prevent further decline, the major supermarkets must not only remain competitive on average basket spend, but need to also target growing shopper concerns on product sustainability and retailer ethics.”