Lidl dares to differentiate among discounters… and wins The Grocer of the Year

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The Grocer OTY

Winner: Lidl GB

There can be no doubt that the growth of the discount sector slowed in 2024 – with one notable exception: Lidl. It was the fastest growing bricks & mortar supermarket for the entirety of 2024, growing sales by 17% to £11bn and profits to £221m. And it’s kept up the momentum into 2025 [Kantar].

Crucially success has not come from the rollout of new stores. In fact there have been only a handful of openings. More meaningful has been the store refurbishment programme, which saw over 100 stores refreshed, as Lidl has focused on continuous improvement, operational excellence –and increasing differentiation.

The most obvious difference in approach has been Lidl’s digital loyalty app. Lidl broke the discounter mould when it launched Lidl+ in 2020. In 2024 it built on its early success with a blizzard of campaigns, including a Bakery Spin, Fruity Spin, UEFA Tickets raffle and £10 off the next shop to one in 10 members. Users are up over a third. And 80% more customers took advantage of the discounts.

It leveraged launched Lidl Plus For You, which enables Lidl to personalise offers. And in May it added non-personalised ‘Lidl Plus Offers’. Discounts on a weekly rotating selection of products could for the first time be signposted on Lidl’s now exclusively electronic shelf labels, showing non-members what they were missing out on. Gondola ends could be devoted to the offers, creating powerful ads to draw more members, more loyalty and more frequency.

Via Coupon Plus Lidl also combined the app with another big differentiator: in-store bakeries. Giving away a free bakery item for every shop over £10, it drove loyalty, frequency and awareness via new sign-ups.

By March last year Lidl had the highest bakery market share of 18.2%, having rocketed from 10.6% at the start of 2023, when it was fifth [Kantar].

It’s not the only category where Lidl is excelling through differentiation either. The introduction of charcuterie bays has resulted in a 46% increase in sales. It now has the largest supermarket market share.

After tripling its Vemondo Plant range sales are up 66%. The expansion of its High Protein range across ambient, frozen and chilled has boosted sales by 35%.

And in 2024 Lidl became the first retailer to adopt WWF’s Planet-Based Diets methodology to help increase sales of plant-based foods and boost total fibre consumption.

It’s also invested a further £3bn in its British beef, pork and eggs supply chains. That takes its investment to £21bn over the past five years – 40% more than its original £15bn commitment.

Finally it’s invested in its people. The first food retailer to be age accredited by 55/Redefined, it also partnered with Kingston University to launch a Retail Leadership Degree, enrolling 50+ apprentices. Meanwhile it received over 1.35m job applications – a 37% increase – and announced over 2,000 internal promotions to support its continued growth.