Discounters Aldi and Lidl posted the strongest growth in the French grocery market in the period from 27 December to 23 January, new data from Kantar has shown.
Kantar data for the so-called 'P1 2022' period showed that Aldi saw a 0.4 percentage point increase, to hold 2.9% market share.
The discounter has seen the number of shoppers visiting its stores rise by 25% since this time last year, which has been helped by its recent acquisition of the Leader Price chain.
Meanwhile, Lidl, which holds 7.1% of the market, also reported a 0.4 percentage point increase, by both recruiting new customers and retaining old ones, Kantar said.
Leader Of The Pack
Market leader E.Leclerc saw its market share rise by 0.2 percentage points, to 22.5%, seeing an increase in both hypermarket sales and through online channels.
Carrefour also gained a 0.2 percentage point increase, boosted by its 'more attractive' Carrefour and Carrefour Market banners, Kantar said, with the group's proximity channel gaining an additional 378,000 households in the period.
Elsewhere, Groupement U gained 0.1 percentage points (to 11.2%), largely driven by its online offering – more shoppers used the retailer's e-commerce channel without tis affecting in-store traffic, Kantar said.
Grocery Spend Down Year-On-Year
In terms of broader shopper trends, spending in the French grocery channel was down 1.6% compared to January of last year, but is 6.9% higher than that of January 2020.
The proximity and online channels were the most dynamic in P1 2022, seeing a market share gain of 0.2 percentage points each. Online purchases have been 'notably boosted' by home delivery, with a customer base 30% higher than at the same period last year.
Kantar's data is taken from a sample of 20,000 Worldpanel panelist households.
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