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Read more…Supermarket statistics UK
The latest stats on the supermarket industry and behaviours surrounding it.
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).
| 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.
| 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.
| 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?
| 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.
| 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%.
| 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.
| 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
Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:
Matt Mckenna
UK communications manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806
UK communications manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806
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