Mixed Weather and Football-free Summer Sees Retail-Grocery Growth Dip

London, UK, June 21, 2011 - Headline value growth at the UK’s grocery multiples has fallen back to just +1.1 percent over the last four weeks, with unit growth now down -1.3 percent according to latest retailer performance figures released today by Nielsen. (Source: Nielsen Scantrack). Tesco, Morrison’s and Sainsbury’s have each nudged up their share of the total grocery market, compared with a year ago. Tesco has seen its shoppers visit more often than during the same period in 2010, albeit spending slightly less on each visit.
Mike Watkins, senior manager Retailer Services at Nielsen comments: “With mixed British summer weather returning and no large social or sporting event for the nation to celebrate in the last month, value growth has dipped and unit sales have declined YoY.

He continues: “At a category level, sales of General Merchandise at supermarkets have weakened in the four weeks to June 11th but sales of packaged Grocery have rebounded as shoppers stock up on store-cupboard items. This trend has benefited discount retailers Aldi and Lidl, who continue to gain market share, experiencing higher growth than the top-four supermarkets. Decent sales this time last year, with the hot weather and the build-up to the World Cup, have also taken the edge off growth figures in recent weeks for Beverages and Fresh Foods in particular.”

The 2011 Nielsen Consumer Confidence survey for Q1 signaled that shoppers continue to look for savings when shopping so, it is no surprise that, mid-year, underlying demand seems to have weakened, driving unit sales into decline.

“In their continued plight to drive demand, retailers have maintained high levels of promotions. The value of promotional spend remains at around 39 percent of sales but this may edge up again as summer sales kick in. Retailers use promotions to create events. These not only help footfall, but they push up the value of the shopping basket, which is key in a market where underlying demand has weakened. There has also been more reliance on ‘multi-buys’ in the last 12 weeks.” (Source: Nielsen Homescan).

Table 1: 12 Weekly % Share of grocery market spend by retailer and value sales % change

The figures in the table are based on 12 weeks sales through to 11 June 2011 compared with the same 12 week period in 2010. Source: Nielsen Total Till, Nielsen Homescan

*Source: Nielsen Scantrack, Grocery Multiples including Co-op

About Nielsen Homescan Total Till

Unless otherwise stated, data is based on all purchases, bar-coded and non bar-coded, brought back into the home from any outlet by an in-home scanning panel of more than 14,500 households. Total spend includes all items stocked by any outlet, including grocery, general merchandise and clothing.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related assets. The company has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information on The Nielsen Company, visit www.nielsen.com.