The symbols and independents sector has taken a hit this summer, seeing a -5.5% sales fall when comparing the 12 weeks to 9 July 2023 with the same period in 2024, according to the latest data from Kantar.

The category appears to be faring worse than its major retailer competitors, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Morrisons, Waitrose and Lidl, which have seen success in sales in the summer months.

The results follow two consecutive months of sales fall for the symbols and independents sector. Last month, Kantar reported a -4.1% loss in sales for symbols and independents year-on-year when compared with the same 12 week period in 2024.

It is also the second month in a row for Co-op to see a sales drop (-5.5%).

Still waiting for summer

Last month, Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt attributed lower sales to poor weather. He suggested that people are “still waiting for the great British summer to break through the clouds” and retailers are “seeing the effects of that” in basket spend.

He added: “Over the past three months, sales of cold and flu treatments jumped by 35%, while sun cream dipped by 10% compared with last year, when we were enjoying the warmest June on record. Some shoppers aren’t letting the disappointing weather dull their glow, however, pushing up sales of artificial tan by 16%.”

This month, take-home sales across all grocers averaged a 2.2% increase over the four weeks to 7 July 2024, with the quarter-final for the men’s UEFA European Football Championship noted as driving up beer and crisp sales.

With online-only retailer Ocado the fastest growing grocer for the fifth month in a row, (sales up by 10.7% over the 12 weeks to 7 July), there is an indication that consumers are continuing to gravitate towards online grocery shopping, especially in times of cooler weather. Ocado now holds 1.8% of the market, up 0.1 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

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