Discounter Aldi became the UK's fastest growing food retailer in the last year.
The rise in prominence of discount supermarkets has lowered the average British family’s food bill by £7 over the last 12 months, new research has claimed.
The 2015 Shopper Barometer found that 63% of consumers are now often using discounters such as Aldi and Lidl for at least some items – up 5% from 2014 – although the proportion of these that purchase groceries is significantly lower than those that use them for domestic items such as toiletries.
In March, we reported that Aldi had overtaken high-end supermarket chain Waitrose to become the UK’s sixth largest supermarket group, and was the third fastest growing food retailer in all of Europe. The achievement represents the company’s increasing popularity in markets such as the UK.
But one area that research consultant Future Thinking claimed was still dominated by the mainstream supermarkets was loyalty schemes.
Future Thinking head of shopper insight Noreen Kinsey said: “With competition between the supermarkets rife, they must be especially careful to keep listening to what their customers want, rather than what their competitors are doing. The discounters have shown a better understanding of what consumers need, and where and why they are still looking to make savings on their groceries.
“Britons have been living with tightened belts since 2007 and even with economic growth being reported, consumers are reluctant to open their purses and wallets to start spending more. We seem to be better at finding the right deals for the best quality products that we can, and these are seemingly being delivered by the discounters.”
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