Britain’s grocery market is unusually concentrated. A handful of chains sell most of the country’s food, own-brand products account for a much larger share than in the United States, and where you shop is understood — accurately or not — as a statement about you.
The players
- Tesco — the largest by a distance, with around a quarter of the market. Founded 1919, and so dominant in the 2000s that its expansion became a political issue.
- Sainsbury’s — the oldest of the big chains, founded 1869, positioned slightly upmarket of Tesco.
- Asda — Yorkshire-founded, price-focused, owned by Walmart from 1999 to 2021.
- Morrisons — Bradford-founded, strong in the North, and notable for doing much of its own food manufacturing.
- Aldi and Lidl — the German discounters, which have transformed the market since 2008 with small ranges, mostly own-brand, at low prices. Aldi is now the fourth largest chain in Britain.
- Waitrose — upmarket, owned by the John Lewis Partnership, and the most class-loaded name on the list.
- Co-op, Iceland, M&S Food and the convenience formats fill in the rest.
The own-brand tiers
The system every British shopper reads without thinking. Each major chain runs three levels of its own label:
- Value — the cheapest. Tesco Value, Sainsbury’s Basics, Asda Smart Price, and their successors.
- Standard own-brand — the bulk of the shop.
- Premium — Tesco Finest, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, Asda Extra Special, Morrisons The Best. Better ingredients, better packaging, and a modest step up in price.
Own-brand accounts for a far larger share of British grocery spending than American, and premium own-brand in particular is taken seriously — the Christmas ranges are reviewed in newspapers.
The store formats
Confusing at first, and worth knowing:
- Extra / Superstore — the very large out-of-town shops.
- Superstore / Supermarket — a standard full-range store.
- Metro / Local / Express / Little Waitrose — small town-centre and city convenience shops, with a limited range at noticeably higher prices.
Practical notes
- Bring a bag. Carrier bags are charged for by law, and most people carry a folded reusable one.
- Bag your own shopping. There is no packer, and the queue behind you expects reasonable speed.
- Loyalty pricing. Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury’s Nectar now offer a lower price to cardholders on a large number of items, which has drawn criticism from consumer groups for making shelf prices hard to compare.
- Reduced sections. Yellow-stickered items nearing their date, marked down in the evening, and pursued with real enthusiasm.
- Sunday trading. Large shops in England and Wales may open for only six hours on a Sunday. Small ones have no restriction. This catches out visitors every week.
The class map
British supermarkets carry an unmistakable social ranking, and jokes about it are constant. Waitrose sits at the top, Aldi and Lidl were at the bottom until they became fashionable during the financial crisis and stayed there, and Tesco is the broad middle. Mentioning where you do your weekly shop tells another British person more than you might intend.