Mercadona is the leading chain in Spain and every year scratches more market share. In 2019, it grew again, according to the balance of quotas of the distribution chains carried out by the consulting firm Kantar Worldpanel. Mercadona is followed by Carrefour while Lidl is on Dia's heels, which, despite the sales crisis it is going through, is still the third chain with the most market share.

Mercadona grows and scratches 0.6 share points (it already has 25.5%) "although it has limited its expansion, which now focuses on the Basque Country, which is where it later arrived and where it is now opening more stores, "says Florencio García, a consumer export consultant.

The growth of the Valencian chain this year (nine out of 10 Spaniards have ever bought in their stores) is explained by their commitment to the frescoes, by the introduction of the ready-to-eat section and by the investment effort in improving Your online shopping system.

According to Kantar, after his arrival in Portugal he is getting a good penetration, that is, that the Portuguese go to the stores, but buy few things, "the best known products or those that have become viral. What Mercadona has to achieve is that the baskets are larger, increase the amount of them, "says Florencio García.

10 years ago Mercadona had an 18% share. Today, it is 25.5%.

Mercadona is the one with the largest basket, the chain we go to most frequently. We spent more on average in Mercadona than what we spent 10 years ago in hypermarkets, for example.

Lidl, the one that grows the most

The chain that has grown the most this year has been Lidl, a trend "that has been observed for several years." Lidl is already the fourth chain (has advanced to Eroski) where we spend more money and is already the second by number of buyers, with seven out of 10 who have already bought in their stores last year.

"It is necessary for the consumer to spend more on each visit, not to buy only certain products or those that are on sale," says Garcia. Lidl has won 0.7 points this year and already has 5.6%.

Dia is on the heels , which is, on the contrary, the chain that has had the worst behavior in 2019. It has been the worst year in its history, with a drop in sales, a deep burden on its accounts and constant changes in the address. This crisis put him on the edge of the bankruptcy and now "is immersed in profound changes."

With the new address "your challenge now is to recover that image of good prices" and not continue to share. Remember that it is still the third distribution chain in this country, with a penetration of 60% (six out of 10 consumers buy there) and some 3,500 stores. That Lidl does not take away the position of third distribution chain "will depend primarily on what Dia does," says Garcia.

More spending, less shopping

We Spaniards have spent 1% more in large consumption in 2019 (food items and drinks that we buy in stores, supermarkets and hyper) although we have bought less products, less quantity.

This is partly due to the increase in the cost of the shopping basket, especially in fresh products, which in some cases have skyrocketed in a significant way. This value growth, but not in volume, of the market is "a trend that extends to all categories and that we have already seen for two years," says Florencio García.

Kantar's balance reflects whether we have bought more or less, what we have spent, on what and where. One of the reasons that explain that we have left more money buying less is the cost of fresh products 2%.

This is the category that has more weight in food, where we invest one in two euros of the total in large consumption. It is "where the chains now have their battlefield," says Garcia.

If we go only to supermarket chains (excluding traditional stores) the rise in fresh produce (fruits, vegetables, meat and fish) is 4%, highlighting the rise in vegetables and seafood.

Potatoes and onions, for example, are 15% more expensive. The avocado has shot three years and has grown its sales this year 11% while in Iberian ham we have spent 27.5% more. It has also increased spending on organic products (seven out of 10 homes already have them in their refrigerators) and also on more premium products.

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  • economy
  • Mercadona
  • Basque Country
  • Portugal

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