Lidl taking £10m a month off its more expensive rivals

Lidl is winning around £10million of business from its more expensive rivals every month as shoppers hunt for bargains.

Industry figures from data firm Kantar show customers who usually shop at Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s have spent £120million at the German discounter in the past year.

That is the equivalent of £10million a month – though the figure rose to £11million in January in a sign the trend is strengthening.

Shoppers are switching from traditional supermarkets to the cheaper German rivals to save cash amid the spiralling cost of living crisis. 

Lidl and Aldi have gained millions of shoppers since inflation spiked last year, and have seen their share of the UK’s grocery market soar.

The pair make up 16.3 per cent of all supermarket sales, the latest figures show, larger than any individual grocer apart from Tesco. 

Lidl said the biggest increase in demand was for its fresh fruit and vegetables and its meat and poultry ranges.

Boss Ryan McDonnell said it is clear shoppers are ‘refusing to pay a premium for their groceries’.

Lidl wants to follow in Aldi’s footsteps and overtake Morrisons as Britain’s fifth biggest grocer. 

The Bradford-based grocer was ousted from its coveted top-four spot by Aldi in September.

Asked last year if he expects to overtake Morrisons, which has struggled since falling into private equity hands in 2021, McDonnell said: ‘I think so, yeah.’