Supermarket Shares and Shoppers

Competition in the UK grocery market remains as fierce as ever, according to figures from TNS Superpanel. Tesco's leading market share is still creeping up, but Sainsbury's and Asda are also continuing to grow. Meanwhile, analysis from Scarborough Research in the US defines distinct markets for discount stores Target and Wal-Mart.

The top three UK supermarkets have all grown their market share in the last 12 months, with Tesco's share increasing from 28% to 30.3% (with a slight drop from last month's 30.5%). Sainsbury's continues to recover, with 5% growth over the year taking its market share to 15.7%, while Asda experienced 4% growth, and now has a 16.9% share. Figures are for the 12 weeks ending September 11 2005.

Many of the gains are at the expense of Morrisons / Safeway, whose 196 store disposals following the acquisition of the latter have taken their toll on market share. The store conversion programme should be completed by the end of the year, according to Edward Garner, Communications Director for Superpanel, who says Morrisons is now starting to see signs of stability. 'The share is unchanged from the previous period, and this means that the ongoing share is likely to be around 11%,' he predicts.

Somerfield hit a peak market share of 4.3%, with its 22% growth fuelled by acquisitions from Safeway and conversions from Kwik Save. Waitrose has seen its market share rise 15% since this time last year, but still accounts for just 3.7% of the market.

The TNS Superpanel (www.tns-global.com ) monitors the grocery purchases of 15,000 demographically representative households in Great Britain. Data is based on the value of items bought by these consumers.

Target and Wal-Mart Shopper Profiles

In the US, analysis from Scarborough Research reveals that low-cost stores Wal-Mart and Target are both attracting distinct customer bases, with Target appealing to wealthier and younger shoppers.

Scarborough found that Wal-Mart-exclusive shoppers (those who had shopped at Wal-Mart but not Target in the last three months) are more likely than average to have shopped at other discount stores, and less likely to have shopped at a wide variety of other retailers. These shoppers are 34% less likely than all consumers to have an annual household income of $100k+, and 10% more likely to be aged 50+.

Target-exclusive shoppers, on the other hand, are generally avid shoppers, and are especially likely to have shopped at relatively upscale stores such as Nordstrom and Macy's. Scarborough's analysis revealed that Target-exclusive shoppers are 62% more likely than most to be in the $100k+ household income bracket, and 7% less likely to be over 50.

According to Alisa Joseph, VP, Advertiser Marketing Services at Scarborough, the analysis confirms what has been a hot topic of conversation in retail circles: 'that Wal-Mart and Target shoppers are discount shopping, but have different mindsets'. The research shows that convenience and price are important to the Wal-Mart-exclusive shopper, whereas style and selection hold more weight with Target devotees.

The analysis also found that Target and Wal-Mart share many customers: in the past three months, 40% of consumers shopped at both chains. 31% are Wal-Mart-exclusive shoppers, 12% are Target-exclusive and the remaining 17% shopped at neither.

The data comes from the Scarborough Multi-Market Study 2004, which analyses the shopping, media and lifestyle behaviors of consumers in 75 local markets. Scarborough's web site is at www.scarborough.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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