Tesco squeezed by Waitrose and Aldi

Tesco is losing market share. More shoppers are either focusing on price or on high-quality food.

The supermarket big boys, Tesco and Asda, are being squeezed by smaller players such as Aldi and Lidl.

Look at this table:

Rise in sales between May-August 2010 and May-August 2011

Source: Kantar Worldpanel

So for the three months to August 2011, sales at Aldi were 24% higher than they were a year earlier whereas Asda only delivered a 1.2% rise.

In tough times, consumers are either going for the lowest possible price – at stores such as Aldi and Lidl – or they’re going for quality at Waitrose. Waitrose sales have also been boosted by a Waitrose marketing campaign where the supermarket claims to match prices at Tesco on many lines.

In tough times, it’s no surprise that families are looking for value-for-money. The average UK household spends £52 a week on food and drink so even a 10% cut in spending could save you £5 a week or £250 a year.

And don’t forget, that £52 figure is for the average UK household, so that will include single people and couples with no children. Your average family will be spending much more.

If you want to keep an eye on how much you’re spending on groceries, check out lovemoney.com’s Tracker tool. It brings all your online accounts and credit cards together in one place so you can see where your money is going.

Crucially your spending is categorised, so you can monitor your spending on groceries and you can even set budget targets for future months. Then you can see whether you’re getting your supermarket spending below the magic £52 figure.

Source: Office of National Statistics

More:  Ten ways to cut your food bill