Supermarket Chains in The UK

The UK supermarkets strive fiercely for the customers because of few retailers as well as it becomes harder to understand which supermarkets provide the finest deals, provide greater-quality food, as well as offer you five-star services. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the supermarket chains are facing competition from many online grocers.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the best Supermarkets in the UK like Tesco, Co-op Food, Nisa, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, M&S Simply Food, Asda, Morrisons, and Lidl.

Brief Insights

  • There are over 12,704 supermarkets available in the UK.
  • Co-op Food is the biggest supermarket chain in the UK having 3,819 stores.
  • London has the maximum number of supermarkets in the UK.
  • Tesco is the biggest supermarket chain in London having 295 stores.

Total Available Supermarkets in The United Kingdom

We have analyzed a total of 12,704 different locations from the top 9 supermarket UK chains. Co-op Food is the biggest supermarket chain having 3,819 locations. Also, Tesco is the 2nd biggest supermarket having 2,714 stores as well as Sainsbury’s is at 3rd place with 1,421 different locations.

Tesco as well as Sainsbury’s are having the biggest share in the grocery market since October 2020. The supermarket sector in the UK is ruled by Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrison, and Asda Supermarkets, as they are ‘Big 4’, having full-scale superstores about 40,000 square feet.

In March of 2020, the government had introduced a one-year-long break in payments of the business rates in the UK. The biggest supermarket chains are projected to profit from nearly £2 billion in the business rates tax breaks. It had faced criticism because all these supermarkets were permitted to stay open whereas other firms might not get support. Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons, all have promised to reimburse the government for the savings made with the tax breaks for UK companies struggling throughout the Coronavirus pandemic whereas Waitrose and Co-op declined.

Co-Op Food

co-op-food

You will have 3,819 Co-op Food stores working in the UK. The cities having the maximum supermarkets include London with 166 supermarkets, Glasgow with 61 supermarkets, and Leicester with 52 supermarkets respectively.

Co-op Food is having the maximum number of supermarkets in the UK with a huge presence in the rural regions. In Co-op stores, you will get the finest local food as they understand local farmers as well as business owners well. Their stores are having a range of premium products and customers could donate to the local charitable if they are members of the ethical cooperative.

Tesco

tesco

You can find 2,714 Tesco supermarket stores within the UK, having London with 295 supermarkets, Bristol with 43 supermarkets, and Glasgow with 41 supermarkets respectively. Tesco is a British multinational company, which sells general merchandise and grocery having a 27.8% market share of the supermarket chains working in the UK.

The product range of Tesco concentrates on pricing over quality. Their bigger hypermarket format is known as Tesco Extra while city center stores are known as Tesco Express or Tesco Metro.

Sainsbury’s

sainsburys

You have 1,421 Sainsbury’s supermarket stores available in the UK, with London having 279 supermarket stores, Glasgow having 27 supermarket stores, and Edinburgh having 27 supermarket stores respectively. 56% of the Sainsbury’s locations include city center stores named Sainsbury’s Local.

Nisa

nisa

Nisa, a completely owned subsidiary of the The Co-operative Group is having 1,178 1,178 supermarkets working in the UK with London having 81 supermarkets, Birmingham having 31 supermarkets, and Leeds having 21 supermarkets respectively.

Aldi

Aldi

You can find 906 supermarkets of Aldi working in the UK with Cardiff having 9 supermarkets, Liverpool having 7 supermarkets, and London having 6 supermarkets respectively. This German discounter provides a no-frills shopping experience with cheaper products. Mostly, Aldi stores are found in the central parts of England.

Lidl

Lidl

Lidl, a German retailer is having 842 supermarkets in the UK with London having 23 supermarkets, Bristol having 14 supermarkets, and Glasgow having 13 supermarkets respectively. Lidl has become very successful in the UK market with the help of a combination of fresh produce as well as non-food goods.

Asda

ASDA

Asda is having 634 stores working in the UK with London having 12 supermarkets, Manchester having 10 supermarkets, and Leeds having 10 supermarkets respectively. ASDA is a Yorkshire-based chain, focusing on low-price products as well as hypermarket stores, with has a limited existence in London if you compare with the other supermarkets in the UK.

Morrisons

morrisons

Morrisons is having 629 supermarket stores in the UK with Jersey having 14 supermarkets, Glasgow having 12 supermarkets, and Leeds having 12 supermarkets respectively. Morrisons was started as the regional supermarket of Yorkshire. The company concentrate on fresh produces as well as the market-style shopping experience with reasonable pricing.

Marks & Spencer Simply Food

marks-&-spencer-simply-food

The internationally-reputed Departmental Store Marks & Spencer always sells food alongside fashion and homeware. You will find 561 Marks & Spencer Simply Food stores in the UK with London having 43 supermarket stores, Glasgow having 10 supermarket stores, and Reading having 9 supermarket stores respectively.

Marks & Spencer has the reputation for a quality drink and food drink products. In recent times, the company has launched its premium food-only stores, named M&S Foodhall.

Which City is Having Maximum Supermarkets Store?

London is having maximum supermarkets at 957 locations, trailed by Glasgow having 198 as well as Bristol having 156 locations respectively.

Tesco is the biggest supermarket chain in London having 295 stores trailed by Sainsbury’s with 279 stores, and Co-op Foods with 166 stores.

Effects of On Supermarkets (Because of COVID – 19)

When the Covid-19 pandemic started to overcome Europe, the Google searches of “food delivery in the UK” reached their all-time high on April 19. Demands for online groceries have reached far beyond their capacity because the demand is unprecedented. Because of lockdown pressure, the delivery and supermarket giants like Amazon Fresh, Ocado, and Deliveroo have quickly become astounded.

Sales of the supermarket chains in the UK increased to the maximum in the coronavirus pandemic in the past 26 years! All these retailers are extremely efficient at offering food for many people however, they have some vulnerabilities. Despite making profits, supermarket chains like Sainsbury’s and Tesco have a higher cost of expanding delivery operations online. As nobody anticipates online groceries to revert to pre-Covid situations, big supermarket chains just can’t have the slower adoption towards online groceries as they hope for.

The Data Store of LocationsCloud trails store closures and openings that concentrates on pharmacies, discount stores, convenience stores, auto parts stores, and urgent care. You may subscribe to different data plans we offer and find datasets with data points including store openings, parking availability, store closures, services, subsidiaries, in-store pickup alternatives, competitor stores nearby, and more.