High inflation has prompted consumers to reduce spend in restaurants while branded grocery items have out-performed own label during the last four weeks
Retail sales of branded grocery items grew by 6.1 per cent during the last month as high inflation has prompted consumers to swap meals out for treats out home.
Branded sales grew faster than own-label alternatives, which were up by 4.1 per cent, for the four weeks to 10 August 2025, according to the latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar). The figures show the largest gap in favour of brands since March 2024, Worldpanel said.
Premium own label is also continuing to do well with sales rising by 11.5 per cent this period.
Grocery price inflation has dropped slightly to five per cent while take-home sales at the supermarkets grew by four per cent versus the same period last year.
“We’ve seen a marginal drop in grocery price inflation this month, but we’re still well past the point at which price rises really start to bite and consumers are continuing to adapt their behaviour to make ends meet,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel.
“Casual and fast service restaurants especially have seen a decline in visitors over the summer, with trips falling by six per cent during the three months to mid-July 2025 – compared with last year.”
Lidl and Ocado were tied for top spot as the fastest-growing retailers over the 12 weeks to 10 August 2025, with sales at both up by 10.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Tesco enjoyed its largest monthly share gain since December 2024, driven by sales growth of 7.4 per cent compared to last year.
Sales growth was also recorded at Sainsbury’s (+5.2 per cent) and Aldi (+4.8 per cent), while Asda and Co-op saw declines of 2.6 and 3.2 per cent respectively. Morrisons sales had a slight increase of 0.9 per cent.
