Supermarket statistics UK

We break down statistics on the UK’s favourite places to do their grocery shopping, how supermarket sales have fared during lockdown and how much Brits are spending on their weekly shops.

Quick overview

Tesco was the UK’s favourite supermarket in 2020, with a 60% positive response rate.
Tesco also holds the greatest supermarket market share, owning over a quarter of the market (26.6%).
Tesco’s greatest percentage increase on its sales in the previous year was in April 2020, at a 7.2% increase.
The market value of supermarkets reached its peak in 2020, at £205 billion.
That means the average Brit spent £3,020 on their supermarket shopping during 2020.

Supermarket shopping behaviour

How popular are supermarkets for everyday goods?

Almost 9 out of 10 people (89%) regularly buy their groceries from supermarkets. A quarter of people (24%) also like to buy their baked goods from special bakeries or delis. The same amount of people also admitted to shopping online. Other popular places were discount stores, deli counters in supermarkets and specialist stores (like butchers).

Chart
Table

Type of store	Percentage of respondents
Supermarket	89%
Bakery or deli	24%
Online store/online retail	24%
Discount store	22%
Deli counter in supermarkets	19%
Specialist store (e.g. butcher shop)	19%
Hypermarket	14%
Farmers' market	13%
Drugstore	11%
Convenience store/kiosk	10%
Organic food store	7%
Meal kit providers	6%
I do not buy food or products for everyday use	0%
Other	2%

The UK’s favourite supermarkets

When asked which store they shopped at regularly to buy food and products for everyday use, 60% of respondents replied Tesco. Perhaps due to slashed prices, Aldi and Asda came up in joint second place, with a 43% response rate.

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Table

Supermarket	Percentage of respondents
Tesco	60%
Aldi	43%
Asda	43%
Sainsbury's	38%
Lidl	32%
Morrisons	31%
Iceland	25%
Co-op	24%
Marks & Spencer	17%
Waitrose	12%
Farmfoods	9%
Costco	4%
Booths	2%
Budgens	2%
I do not buy food or products of everyday use	0%
Other	4%

Supermarket market shares

Tesco holds the greatest market share among British supermarkets, which aligns with being the nation’s favourite supermarket. Contrastingly, Sainsbury’s was the fourth most popular supermarket as voted above (with a 38% positivity rating) but has the second greatest market share of grocery stores in Great Britain (15.7%). Being less popular than, say, Asda but having a greater market share could indicate that Sainsbury’s makes more money per individual shop.

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Table

Supermarket	Market share
Tesco	27%
Sainsbury's	15%
Asda	14%
Morrisons	10%
Aldi	8%
The Cooperative	7%
Lidl	6%
Waitrose	5%
Iceland	2%
Other multiples	2%
Symbols and independent	2%
Ocado	2%

Supermarket statistics

Market value of grocery retail

The market value of grocery retail has increased steadily over the past 16 years. Perhaps due to an increasing population, panic buying during COVID-19 or increased consumerism, grocery retail reached the highest market value in 2020. A market value of £205 billion would mean the average Brit spent £3,020 on grocery shopping in 2020. How do you compare?

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Table

Year	Market value
2020	£205 billion
2019	£192 billion
2018	£190.3 billion
2017	£185.2 billion
2016	£179.6 billion
2015	£178.2 billion
2014	£177.5 billion
2013	£175 billion
2012	£169.1 billion
2011	£157.3 billion
2010	£152.2 billion
2009	£146 billion
2008	£139.2 billion
2007	£133.6 billion
2006	£128.7 billion
2005	£124.6 billion
2004	£120 billion

Average weekly sales

With an average of £3.23 billion spent every November, Christmas stands strong as the most profitable holiday. Soon after, the spending plummets during January (average spend of £2.85 billion), where spending is consistently lowest compared to during the remainder of the year.

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Table

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Date	Average weekly sales
May 14	£2.941 billion
Jun 14	£2.960 billion
Jul 14	£2.955 billion
Aug 14	£2.872 billion
Sep 14	£2.860 billion
Oct 14	£2.922 billion
Nov 14	£3.102 billion
Dec 14	£3.387 billion
Jan 15	£2.774 billion
Feb 15	£2.843 billion
Mar 15	£2.990 billion
Apr 15	£2.877 billion
May 15	£3.010 billion
Jun 15	£3.009 billion
Jul 15	£2.992 billion
Aug 15	£2.899 billion
Sep 15	£2.965 billion
Oct 15	£2.965 billion
Nov 15	£3.140 billion
Dec 15	£3.499 billion
Jan 16	£2.855 billion
February 16	£2.950 billion
March 16	£3.050 billion
April 16	£3.008 billion
May 16	£3.121 billion
June 16	£3.096 billion
July 16	£3.118 billion
August 16	£3.063 billion
Sep 16	£3.044 billion
Oct 16	£3.109 billion
Nov 16	£3.229 billion
Dec 16	£3.612 billion
Jan 17	£2.839 billion
Feb 17	£2.970 billion
Mar 17	£3.018 billion
Apr 17	£3.131 billion
May 17	£3.119 billion
Jun 17	£3.070 billion
Jul 17	£3.106 billion
Aug 17	£3.033 billion
Sep 17	£3.001 billion
Oct 17	£3.068 billion
Nov 17	£3.185 billion
Dec 17	£3.624 billion
Jan 18	£2.808 billion
Feb 18	£2.965 billion
Mar 18	£3.105 billion
Apr 18	£2.995 billion
May 18	£3.195 billion
Jun 18	£3.169 billion
Jul 18	£3.218 billion
Aug 18	£3.106 billion
Sep 18	£3.041 billion
Oct 18	£3.106 billion
Nov 18	£3.225 billion
Dec 18	£3.644 billion
Jan 19	£2.898 billion
Feb 19	£3.009 billion
Mar 19	£3.097 billion
Apr 19	£3.198 billion
May 19	£3.199 billion
Jun 19	£3.177 billion
Jul 19	£3.229 billion
Aug 19	£3.136 billion
Sep 19	£3.103 billion
Oct 19	£3.160 billion
Nov 19	£3.236 billion
Dec 19	£3.652 billion
Jan 20	£2.952 billion
Feb 20	£3.071 billion
Mar 20	£3.422 billion
Apr 20	£3.327 billion
May 20	£3.406 billion
Jun 20	£3.368 billion
Jul 20	£3.265 billion
Aug 20	£3.228 billion
Sep 20	£3.217 billion
Oct 20	£3.273 billion
Nov 20	£3.511 billion
-	-

The impact of COVID-19 on online supermarket shopping

The first UK lockdown was introduced on 16 March 2020. The graph below shows the monthly Internet food retail sales measured by the index numbers of the sales per week. The sales index expresses the current year’s sales revenue as a percentage of the sales revenue in 2018, the base year.

The graph shows an increased reliance on food retail shopping (following news of lockdowns and food shortage scares) in January 2020, where sales shot from 97.3 index points to 221.8 index points in May 2020: an increase of 128%.

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Table

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Date	Index points of weekly food Internet retail sales
Jan 15	66.6
Feb 15	68.1
Mar 15	70.1
Apr 15	66.1
May 15	69.7
Jun 15	70.7
Jul 15	68.1
Aug 15	66.2
Sep 15	70
Oct 15	70
Nov 15	77.2
Dec 15	77.5
Jan 16	74.4
Feb 16	73.9
Mar 16	74
Apr 16	73.9
May 16	81.7
Jun 16	80.2
Jul 16	77.3
Aug 16	73.4
Sep 16	79.9
Oct 16	86.2
Nov 16	97.4
Dec 16	99.9
Jan 17	86.8
Feb 17	85.1
Mar 17	88.7
Apr 17	88.6
May 17	87.6
Jun 17	89
July 17	88.4
Aug 17	85.8
Sep 17	88.5
Oct 17	93.4
Nov 17	104.9
Dec 17	114.1
Jan 18	92.8
Feb 18	99.2
Mar 18	98.4
Apr 18	98.5
May 18	102.7
June 18	102.1
July 18	97.9
Aug 18	91.4
Sep 18	90.9
Oct 18	96.7
Nov 18	107.9
Dec 18	118.9
Jan 19	95.7
Feb 19	99.6
Mar 19	97.1
Apr 19	99.1
May 19	97.8
Jun 19	95.7
Jul 19	98.1
Aug 19	98.9
Sep 19	97.4
Oct 19	98.8
Nov 19	106.5
Dec 19	110.9
Jan 20	97.3
Feb 20	101
Mar 20	117.1
Apr 20	183.5
May 20	221.8
June 20	219.5
Jul 20	205
Aug 20	189.4
Sep 20	186.7
Oct 20	196.9
Nov 20	221.4
-	-

Focus on Tesco

Tesco’s greatest percentage increase was in April 2020, at 7.2% on the previous year. This is likely a direct effect of heightened buying behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from this, the trend shows no correlation between months and percentage change in sales.

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Table

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Date	Percentage change on a year before
4 Jan 15	-1.2%
1 Feb 15	0.3%
1 Mar 15	1.1%
26 Apr 15	-0.4%
24 May 15	-1.3%
21 Jun 15	-0.3%
19 Jul 15	-0.6%
16 Aug 15	-0.5%
13 Sep 15	-1.0%
11 Oct 15	-1.7%
8 Nov 15	-2.5%
6 Dec 15	-3.4%
3 Jan 16	-2.7%
31 Jan 16	-1.6%
27 Mar 16	-0.2%
24 Apr 16	-1.3%
22 May 16	-1.0%
19 Jun 16	-1.3%
17 Jul 16	-0.7%
14 Aug 16	-0.4%
11 Sep 16	-0.2%
9 Oct 16	1.3%
6 Nov 16	2.2%
4 Dec 16	1.6%
1 Jan 17	1.3%
29 Jan 17	0.3%
26 Mar 17	-0.4%
23 Apr 17	1.9%
21 May 17	1.8%
18 Jun 17	3.5%
16 Jul 17	2.3%
13 Aug 17	3.0%
10 Sep 17	2.7%
12 Dec 17	2.5%
31 Dec 17	3.1%
28 Jan 18	2.6%
25 Feb 18	2.7%
25 Mar 18	2.4%
22 Apr 18	2.0%
17 Jun 18	1.4%
15 Jul 18	2.3%
12 Aug 18	1.8%
9 Sep 18	1.9%
7 Oct 18	0.9%
4 Nov 18	0.4%
2 Dec 18	-0.1%
30 Dec 18	0.6%
27 Jan 19	1.0%
24 Feb 19	1.3%
24 Mar 19	0.5%
21 Apr 19	1.0%
11 Aug 19	-1.6%
8 Sep 19	-1.4%
6 Oct 19	-0.2%
3 Nov 19	-0.6%
1 Dec 19	-0.8%
29 Dec 19	-1.5%
26 Jan 20	-0.9%
23 Feb 20	-0.8%
3 Mar 20	-0.8%
19 Apr 20	7.2%
-	-

Sources

Office for National Statistics
Statista Global Consumer Survey
IGD
Our Tesco

As you grow older, it often happens that you choose a certain supermarket and stick to it. Maybe it has the best selection of baked goods or the most helpful staff, or maybe we’re all simply creatures of habit. We do go to the supermarket quite a lot in the UK. In fact, the average person goes once or twice a week.

Our weekly spend at grocery stores this year is £3.2 billion and it was closer to £3.5 billion during the Christmas week of 2019. That’s a £61 weekly shop per person in the UK in April 2020 (though the most savvy shoppers take advantage of grocery discounts to cut the bill!). Given how often we go to the shops, it’s ironic that we also waste a considerable amount of food. Did you know that each household throws away £700 worth of food each year, equal to £60 per month?

£3,202,789,000

is the average weekly spend in grocery stores in the UK in 2020, 4% higher than in 2019.

Where do we shop?

Boasting over a quarter of the market share (27%), the most popular supermarket in the UK is undoubtedly Tesco. Sainsbury’s comes in second place with 15.4% of the market share, while Asda comes in just behind it in third place with 14.9%. The big brands aren’t for everyone though, as 1.9% of us reportedly prefer smaller and possibly local vendors.

Looking over the last three years, we can see that different trends are forming. The four stores with the biggest market shares are falling slightly. Tesco’s popularity has fallen from 27.8% of the total market share in 2017. The same goes for Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. Shopper numbers at Aldi, The Cooperative and Lidl have increased.

Market share
Table

	2017
Tesco	27.8%
Sainsbury's	15.8%
Asda	15.3%
Morrisons	10.4%
Aldi	7.0%
The Cooperative	6.3%
Lidl	5.2%
Waitrose	5.1%
Iceland	2.1%
Other multiples	1.4%

Did you know?

50% of all food gets thrown away.
14.8 million tonnes get thrown away by Brits every year and 40% of it ends up in landfills.
Every day we throw away 5.8 million potatoes, 1.3 million apples, 1.5 million tomatoes and 1.5 million sausages. 300,000 packets of food items that we never open get thrown away.

How often do you go to the shop?

The majority of us are organised enough to at least attempt to get the majority of our shopping done in one go, with 56% of us opting to buy food once or twice a week. 30% of Brits try to minimise how much they carry out the door, shopping three to four times per week. 2% of us make a quick stop at the shop to get food for today and today only, heading to the shop as often as seven or eight times per week!

Weekly visits
Table

How often	Percentage
1-2 times per week	56%
3-4 times per week	30%
5-6 times per week	9%
7-8 times per week	2%

The plastic

Since 5 October 2015, stores are required to charge at least 5p for plastic carrier bags. This initiative was meant to reduce the use of plastic bags and encourage customers to use fewer bags or reuse the ones they’ve already bought. While 71% either support or strongly support this change, has this new law changed our behaviour?

Price of plastic carrier bags
Table

Supermarket	Price per bag
Co-op	5p
Aldi	6p
M&S	6p
Sainsbury's	10p
Tesco	10p
Waitrose	10p
Asda	15p
Iceland	15p
Morrisons	20p

Unfortunately for our oceans, not necessarily. Out of the nine most-visited supermarkets in the UK, five of them have seen an increase in carrier bag sales during the last 12 months. The most popular supermarket in Britain, Tesco, has seen an increase of 92% in the sale of single-use plastic carrier bags from 2017–2018 to 2018–2019. Morrisons’ sales have also seen an increase, albeit a lower one than Tesco, at 4.5%. Similarly, sales at Co-op rose by 4.4%, at M&S by 0.2% and finally at Waitrose by 0.08%. The government is looking into raising the minimum price of a plastic bag from 5p to 10p – maybe that will help us remember to bring the bags we already have at home.

Plastic carrier bags sold
Table

Store	Number of plastic bags sold in 2016-17 (in millions)	Number of plastic bags issued in 2017-18 (in millions)	Number of plastic bags issued in 2018-19 (in millions)
Tesco	637.2	332.74	121.74
Asda	165.8	192.97	106.89
Morrisons	191.5	183.27	65.07
The Co-operative Group	125.9	120.63	53.92
Iceland	100.2	101.62	61
Marks & Spencer	92.5	92.29	55.53
Aldi	67.2	75.5	38.13
Waitrose	62.8	62.75	50.31
Sainsbury's	51.8	53.95	53.47
Lidl*	53.1	3.63	-

Online food shopping

Even if you do have a favourite shop, it’s not always fun to actually go there, put your food into your basket, stand in line and then carry those 20lbs home. Online food shopping is a comfortable alternative and a good way to save some time. Each year, more and more people try it out, with 30% of Brits reporting they’ve ordered their groceries to their door in 2019, 4% more than 2017.

The number is supposedly rising in 2020, as the lockdown during the spring forced many to shop from home.

Percentage of online food shopping per year
Table

Year	Brits doing online shopping
2011	21%
2012	17%
2013	21%
2014	23%
2015	23%
2016	26%
2017	26%
2018	28%
2019	29%

Who’s shopping online?

Out of respondents aged 16–24 years old, 25% say they purchased groceries online at least once. Online grocery shopping is most popular among 35- to 44-year-olds, though, as 48% of them reported that they clicked home the goodies. The 65+ age bracket is the least interested in getting food via the Internet, with only 11% reporting they ordered groceries online.

How often we order varies, but around one in five (22%) of us order weekly. The majority of respondents (39%) order once or twice a month, while 36% of us order even less often.

Ages of shoppers
Table

Age	Percentage
16-24	25%
25-34	38%
35-44	48%
45-54	30%
55-64	20%
65+	11%

Sources

Kantar Worldpanel
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)
DEFRA
ONS

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:

Matt Mckenna
UK communications manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806

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Supermarket statistics UK

The latest stats on the supermarket industry and behaviours surrounding it.

Quick overview

Supermarket shopping behaviour

How popular are supermarkets for everyday goods?

The UK’s favourite supermarkets

Supermarket market shares

Supermarket statistics

Market value of grocery retail

Average weekly sales

The impact of COVID-19 on online supermarket shopping

Focus on Tesco

Sources

2019 supermarket statistics

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