02 May 2008, 13:46 PM
  • New research shows that the economic slowdown hasn't hampered the performance of the grocery sector.

Findings by TNS Worldpanel in the latest grocery market share figures indicates that the sector has experienced six percent year-on-year growth.

Edward Garner, director of the research, says, “This is in increasingly stark contrast to non-grocery, which shows decline or is at best static. Some of this growth can be accounted for by the well-documented food price inflation, particularly in dairy products, fresh produce and bread, but it is nevertheless evidence that, despite pressure on the household budget, we still have to eat.”

However, Mr Garner points out that if premium retailers can still be competitive, the best performers are discount outlets. He explains, “Whilst there is no sign yet of a major shift to price-driven outlets - Waitrose continues to outperform the market for instance - the two top performers this period are Aldi and Iceland with growths of 17% and 12% respectively.”