Discount retailers and online shopping to overtake the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets by April 2019
By April 2019, sales from convenience stores, discount retailers and the internet will overtake supermarkets and hypermarkets according to a study from IGD.
The 'big four' supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – will see sales fall by four per cent from £73.7bn this year to £70.8bn over the next five years while sales from discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl are predicted to double over the same period. By 2019, IGD has predicted discount retailers will command a 10.5 per cent share of the grocery market.
Additionally, online sales will soar 119 per cent and convenience store sales will increase by a third.
This has echoed recent research from Dunnhumby which found the number of shopping trips people make has increased 18 per cent over the past five years as people move away from doing one big ‘weekly shop’ and opt instead to regularly make small basket purchases.
“People are now more willing to shop around at different types of grocery formats, such as convenience stores, discounters or buying online. They have more options available to them than ever before,” said Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of IGD.
“Shoppers now expect grocery retailing to organise itself around their lives rather than building their routines around store opening hours. They expect to buy whatever they want, anytime, anyplace in the most convenient way to them.”
Denney-Finch added that there needed to be a “rethink” on how supermarket space is used and greater investment in the shopping experience including digital technology.
Motorola’s head of retail, Mark Thomson, similarly told The Drum that retailers need to provide more in-store solutions for customers looking to find what they need quickly and be shown how to get the best deals on their purchases.
He advocated the use of Beacon technology and other location-based tools that can engage shoppers in supermarket aisles with relevant offers.