Traditional food retailing in Britain remains in turmoil as Sainsbury’s sales fell for the sixth quarter in a row, Morrison has further reduced its prices, and Tesco proves to be shoppers’ least favourite.
Sainsbury’s, the nation’s third largest supermarket, reported ever dwindling sales, with a 0.6% drop in the last quarter.
Previously, it had experienced a ten-year spurt of growth, but it took the same sudden hit all the major grocery retailers had when customers altered their shopping patterns.
Its new CEO remains optimistic, saying the company’s price cuts had had impact.
Tesco, Asda, and Morrisons also reduced some prices in the wake of customer flight to Aldi and Lidl, convenience stores and online shopping.
The ensuing price war was renewed this week when Morrisons began another round of cuts on “cupboard essentials” such as milk, eggs, sugar, orange juice and bread. Analysts are waiting to see if Tesco and Sainsbury’s follow suit.
Last week, Morrisons, the UK’s fourth largest grocery chain, was reported to have "returned to growth" for the first time since December 2013. It was the only one of the big four supermarkets to see sales rise in the period assessed by analysts Kantar WorldPanel.
Tesco, Britain’s largest supermarket, came in last on the list of customer satisfaction out of eight grocery chains.
The survey found that the most liked was Waitrose, followed by M&S, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, and the Co-op.
Tesco scored the worst for cleanliness and staff courtesy. It was also given low ratings for ability to find items, availability of items, and checkout speed.
