Mega discounters luring customers away from Big Four supermarkets in record numbers, says Kantar

Super-discounters Aldi and Lidl are luring customers away from Big Four (GETTY IMAGES)

Half the country shopped at an Aldi or Lidl in the last three months for the first time on record, with cash-conscious shoppers love-affair with discount supermarkets shows no signs of slowing down.

The retailers are luring customers away from the traditional Big Four supermarkets of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, in record numbers, with shoppers deserting all of them over the last 12 weeks, according to retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel.

Chris Longbottom, a director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “Both Aldi and Lidl have continued to record double-digit growth and are successfully broadening their shopper base.”

Previously, discounters had been seen for “top up” shopping, with customers still going to a bigger supermarket for the main bulk or their weekly shop.

But Aldi and Lidl have increased their ranges and are trying to attract middle-class customers in particular.

Aldi now sells lobster tails at £9.99, along with £10 champagne that recently beat Veuve Clicquot in an awards ceremony.

Tesco has lost the most customers to Aldi and Lidl than its rivals, as the UK’s biggest supermarket struggles to win over shoppers following years of under investment into its stores, leaving them shabby and unappealing.

Aldi now has 4 per cent of the market and if it continues to grow at current rates it would overtake Waitrose within a year.