Queen’s Jubilee Sparks Massive Jump in UK Grocery Sales

Contact: Neil Beston, Tel: 020 3103 3959

London, Wed 13 June 2012 – Supermarkets have been given cause for cheer after sales growths at UK grocery retailers for the week leading up to the Jubilee celebrations (week ending 2 June) rose a massive +12.5%* according to the latest retailer performance figures released today by global information and insights firm Nielsen.

This seven-day sales boost built on a growing momentum from the previous week, as the ‘Summer of Events’ began with the Olympic Torch Relay on 19 May and a week of warm weather across the UK. Seven-day sales at UK grocery multiples accelerated to +5.7% for the week ending 26 May.

However, the cold and wet weather earlier in May led to very subdued trading. Across the standard four-week reporting period as a whole (to 26 May 2012), year-on-year growths remained close to their underlying trend for 2012, at +3.3% (value sales) and -0.9% (unit sales).*

Over the month, performance in the Impulse and Sharing categories rebounded, with the strongest growth coming from Crisps and Snacks (+10%), Confectionery (+9%), Soft Drinks (+7%) and Beer, Wines, Spirits (+7%).

Nielsen senior manager for retailer services Mike Watkins explains: “Overall, May was a month of better momentum across food retailing, with the major supermarkets issuing a deluge of cash savings and discounts, actively encouraging shoppers to visit and spend. This has been a familiar pattern over the last six months. Promotional spend remains at 35% of overall basket sales at the grocery multiples and we anticipate a continuation of these trends for the next three months.”

* source: Nielsen Scantrack Grocery Multiples

12-Weekly % Share of grocery market spend by retailer and value sales % change
Retailer	% share, 12 weeks to 28 May 2011	% share, 12 weeks to 26 May 2012	% value change vs same 12 Weeks Year Ago
TESCO	29.1	28.8	1.8
ASDA	15.7	16.3	6.3
SAINSBURY	15.9	15.9	2.5
MORRISONS	11.4	11.2	0.6
CO-OPERATIVE	7.5	7.1	-1.9
WAITROSE	4.0	4.2	6.1
MARKS AND SPENCER	3.5	3.5	2.0
ICELAND	1.9	1.9	2.7
ALDI	1.8	2.4	38.5
LIDL	1.8	2.0	14.1

The figures in the table are based on 12 weeks sales through to 26 May 2012 compared with the same 12 week period in 2011. Source: Nielsen Total Till, Nielsen Homescan

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 Nielsen
Nielsen Holdings N.V. (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 properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.