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Lidl sees major growth as UK supermarkets ‘feel the pinch’

Lidl, a German supermarket chain, experienced a major boost in its business over the Christmas period as over a million British customers switched to it. It saw a 25% growth in its sales on the Friday before Christmas compared to the previous year.

The rising cost of food items coupled with high inflation and ever escalating energy costs have resulted in customers preferring discount supermarkets and cheaper items. Lidl's market share rose from 6.2% in January 2022 to 7.2% in the three months up to Christmas Day, according to Kantar. The chain's sales were up by 24.5% year on year.

The Schwarz Group, the parent company of Lidl, has 360,000 employees and 12,000 stores across 31 countries. Ryan McDonnell, the Lidl GB chief executive, said,

“Each week we are seeing a larger number of customers moving away from traditional supermarkets and choosing to shop with us."

This trend has revealed a cost of living crisis, with households switching to cheaper shops in order to manage the increasing prices.

Lidl is aiming to further grow this share of the market, with plans to expand warehouses in Belvedere, Kent and Bridgend in south Wales, as well as opening a new facility in Luton, Hertfordshire.

Overall, Lidl gained a whopping 1.3 million British shoppers in the Christmas period as compared to the previous year, with customers switching over 63 million pounds to the chain in the month leading up to Christmas Day. It goes to show that the trend of discount supermarkets is here to stay and that customers are increasingly looking for cheaper options in order to make a dent in their household finances. (end)

Update: 28 Oct 2035, 06:55