S Group Takes the Crown as Only Grocery Store to Experience Growth in Market Share in 2021

Grocery stores faced a decline in sales volume for the second consecutive year last year, according to Nielsen IQ’s grocery store register. However, S Group was the only trade group that experienced growth in market share thanks to their strategy of reducing prices. Their market share increased by 1.3 percentage points to 48.3 percent, and their grocery sales grew by 8.9 percent, outpacing the overall market growth.

On the other hand, K Group and Lidl both experienced a decline in market share, with K Group’s decreasing by 0.9 percentage points to 34.3 percent and Lidl’s decreasing by 0.2 percentage points to 9.6 percent. Despite this, both groups experienced growth in grocery sales of less than four percent.

Despite the decline in sales volume, the value of sales increased by six percent to 22.9 billion euros due to rapid inflation. S Group’s strategy of maintaining an affordable shopping basket by reducing prices proved successful as they initiated price reductions in Xtra products early in the year and continued them throughout the year.

In contrast, K Group focused on throw-in offers and low-cost own products while Lidl emphasized affordability and introduced a new loyalty program. Online grocery shopping also experienced modest growth last year, reaching 626 million euros, accounting for less than three percent of grocery sales.