The majority of the UK’s major supermarket chains saw online searches fall in the run-up to Christmas, compared with the same period last year.
According to the data gathered by MediaVision, shared with The Grocer, Sainsbury’s saw the biggest drop in online searches between 4 and 19 December compared with last year. In total, web searches for Sainsbury’s fell by 3,462,198.
Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Iceland, Waitrose and Ocado all saw a fall in web searches during the build-up to Christmas.
Discounters Aldi (in fifth), Lidl (in eighth) and wholesaler Costco (in 10th) were the only grocers to increase their comparative share of online searches during the month compared with last year, with searches rising by 93,001, 69,358 and 45,454 respectively.
The cost of living crisis, coupled with surging inflation, has seen the discounters gain market share over the past year. In September, Aldi dethroned Morrisons, to take its place among the UK’s so called ‘big four’ supermarkets.
“The cost of living has led to consumers looking for alternatives to their normal retailer of choice,” said MediaVision CEO Louis Venter.
“It should come as no surprise that Aldi and Lidl are seeing big increases in search, proving they are ever-more serious contenders for the UK supermarket crown.”
Total searches during the busiest week – commencing Sunday 11 December – also fell compared with 2021’s peak, per the data. There were a total of 9,761,225 searches across all supermarkets, down from 11,473,134 during the week beginning 13 December 2021.
See the ranking in full below:
- Tesco at 5,546,176 (–472,286 vs 2021)
- Asda at 5,439,012 (–108,563)
- Sainsbury’s at 3,608,246 (–3,462,198)
- Morrisons at 3,557,691 (–687,869)
- Aldi at 2,313,418 (+93,001)
- Iceland at 1,906,673 (–161,810)
- Waitrose at 1,651,233 (–355,179)
- Lidl at 1,258,058 (+69,358)
- Costco at 926,462 (+150,962)
- Ocado at 679,653 (–45,454)
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