UK grocery price inflation falls to 4.5% but shoppers still struggling - Kantar

(Sharecast News) - Almost a quarter of UK households see themselves as struggling financially despite a 4.5% fall in grocery price inflation, according to survey data published on Tuesday. The fall in price inflation for the four weeks to March 17 compared with 5.3% in the prior four-week period, said industry market research firm Kantar.

Online supermarket Ocado was the fastest growing retailer in Britain for the 12 weeks to March 17, as it benefited from a sustained voucher campaign which helped it attract customers.

The retailer improved sales by 9.5% in the latest 12 weeks, ahead of the total online market which rose by 6.6%, to account for 1.9% of all take-home sales.

Britain's two largest grocers, Tesco and Sainsbury's, climbed by 5.8% and 6.7% respectively on an annual basis. Their shares of the market nudged up by 0.4 percentage points each to 27.3% and 15.2%.

Morrisons rose 3.6% increase in sales over the latest 12 weeks and its share of spend stands at 8.7%. Asda, meanwhile, increased sales by only 0.2% and now holds 13.8% of the market.

Aldi's sales rose by 3.1%, with its market share at 9.8%. Fellow discounter Lidl grew by 8.8% to capture a 7.8% share of the market, helped by a 24% rise in sales of baked goods and a 11% jump in fruit, vegetables and salads. Iceland grew sales by 2.2%. Waitrose holds a 4.5% share, with sales up by 3.9%, while Co-op held 5.5% of the market.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com