Business

Grocery discounter Lidl sees surge in popularity

Sales at Lidl in Northern Ireland have increased by 25.5 per cent in the past year
Sales at Lidl in Northern Ireland have increased by 25.5 per cent in the past year Sales at Lidl in Northern Ireland have increased by 25.5 per cent in the past year

DISCOUNT grocery chain Lidl has increased sales by more than a quarter in Northern Ireland over the past year.

It gave the German-owned group a 5 per cent share of the market overall, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel.

The statistics, which cover the year to August 17, recorded consumer spending on groceries to have increased by 0.5 per cent over the period.

Tesco remains by far the north's favourite grocer although sales declined 1.8 per cent resulting in market share contracting to 34.7 per cent.

Sainsbury and Asda occupy second and third position with overall share 17.7 per cent and 17.3 per cent respectively although the gap between the pair is narrowing.

Lidl has been the only supermarket in recent times to record such hikes in popularity.

However, it does not face competition in the north from rival Aldi.

Both supermarkets operate in the Republic were the have a combined share of 17.8 per cent of the market.

The biggest mover south of the border though is Dunnes which continues to make ground on leader Tesco - having briefly gone ahead of its British rival earlier this year.

Kanter Worldpanel director David Berry said: "Dunnes' success is in large part thanks to the continuation of its Shop and Save campaign. Although fewer people have shopped with the retailer this period, these customers have been encouraged to spend more, with the average shop now costing €34.50.

"Lidl has maintained its strong performance, boosting its share of the market by more than half a percentage point to 9.1 per cent. Sales growth of 7.7 per cent has been driven by an increased number of shoppers returning to the store more frequently and spending larger amounts on each occasion. Lidl is the only retailer to drive improvement in all three of these areas in the past quarter."