Aldi winning hearts and minds in supermarket turf war

German giant Aldi has gained further ground in Australia’s supermarket turf war, upping its market share more than any of its rivals in 2017.

The booming grocery retailer, which now has more than 500 stores across Australia, boosted its share of the national grocery market by 0.8% last year, according to Roy Morgan Research, taking its overall slice of the market to 12.1%.

A lack of loyalty is behind the swing, according to Roy Morgan experts, with shoppers increasingly willing to shift allegiances based on price.

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Woolworths also made a strong move in the 12 months to December, tightening its grip on the lead in the $100 billion-plus grocery segment, with its share increasing to 32.2%.

Meanwhile Coles Group lifted its share by just 0.1% to sit at 28.8%.

Coles increased its market share only marginally in 2017.

Roy Morgan industry communications director Norman Morris says very few shoppers visit one supermarket chain exclusively.

“Lack of loyalty among supermarket shoppers that we have seen in this release presents both a major opportunity for current players to gain customers but also a good environment for new entrants to build a customer base like we have seen with Aldi,” Morris says.

He adds that the competition will only get hotter, with more overseas options set to further erode the established brands’ share.

“Woolworths currently appears to have an edge over Coles but both are facing increasing competition from Aldi and the arrival of others including Kaufland and Lidl that will put even more pressure on this market,” he says.

The Roy Morgan survey takes in the opinions of 50,000 people annually, including 12,000 grocery buyers.