Market Shares and Consumer Behaviour | The Stampede to Shop at Aldi

"We haven't seen growth rates like this since the last recession," says the head of Aldi UK.

According to this BBC report, Aldi in the UK has welcomed around 1.5 million new customers over the last 12 weeks as the cost of living crisis starts to bite.

Having recently overtaken Morrisons as the UK's 4th largest supermarket, where market share is measured in sales, it looks like Aldi is powering ahead.

This organic (internal) growth is fuelled essentially by:

• Changes in consumer behaviour prompted by changes in the economy (specificially lower disposale incomes and rising inflation)
• Growth in the number of stores
• A compelling pricing strategy. It's no coincidence that price matching by the likes of Tesco and Morrisons is increasingly done against Aldi prices

Judging by the packed car park at my local Aldi this week, and a local Morrisons that resembled the Marie Celeste when I wandered around, I'll wager it is Morrisons who are experiencing a further decline in market share.

This article today in Grocery Gazette has more detail on market research by KPMG which helps explain why so many shoppers are switching their allegiance.

According to the KPMG report, a quarter – or one in every four shoppers – said they were shopping at less expensive retailers as well as buying fewer items.