Morrisons loses market share to its competitors
WM MORRISON’S troubles over Christmas were further underscored yesterday by figures that showed that the grocer was the only one of the big four supermarkets to suffer a fall in overall sales in the past 12 weeks.
Kantar Worldpanel data showed the retailer’s market share dropped to 11.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 5 January compared with the same period last year, as it lost ground to discounters as well as its major rivals. Sales fell by one per cent.
“The absence of an online offering is a major factor in its decline with total internet grocery sales over the Christmas and New Year period growing at 22 per cent with 15 per cent of British households placing orders,” Kantar’s Ed Garner said.
The retailer is pinning its hopes on its new online service which launched last week in the Midlands.
In contrast, Sainsbury’s was the only one of the four major grocers to hold onto its market share in the period and outperformed the market with overall sales up by 3.1 per cent.
Tesco saw sales rise 0.2 per cent while Asda’s sales grew by 0.8 per cent.