The discount supermarket chains enjoyed strong market share growth through the autumn as cash-strapped consumers looked to cut their weekly food bills.

The flight to frugality benefited Aldi, Asda and Wm Morrison, with these three chains seeing market share growth in the three months to November 2, against the same period last year.

Aldi’s share rose 0.4 percentage points to 3 per cent. Asda moved from 16.7 per cent to 17.1 per cent, according to the industry data, and Morrison rose 0.2 percentage points to 11.4 per cent.

However, Tesco saw its market share slide by 0.4 percentage points to 30.9 per cent.

Rivals said the falling market share was evidence that Tesco’s attempt to bring new shoppers into its stores through the launch of its new “discount brands” range was not paying off.

But Tesco, which this year launched a 350-strong range of cheaper branded goods in an effort to see off the threat of hard discounters such as Aldi, said the fall in market share reflected the move towards cheaper baskets of goods rather than a tail-off in shoppers.

“These figures reflect the significant investment Tesco has made in lowering prices for customers,” it said.

Ed Garner, director of research at TNS Superpanel, said the trends reflected the pressure that the higher-end retailers were under, pointing out the premium private label lines, including Tesco’s Finest and Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, were seeing the biggest declines.

However, Mr Garner also said Sainsbury looked to be holding its ground in a difficult environment for the middle market, having shed just 0.1 percentage point in market share to 15.9 per cent against last year.

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