LONDON: Sales of frozen burgers have plunged 43 per and frozen ready meals have fallen 13 per cent in the UK after the horsemeat scandal, although supermarkets worst-hit by the revelations have not lost customers, the latest data reveal.

The fall in burger sales was recorded during the four weeks to the end of Feb 17, according to Kantar Worldpanel, which suggested the decline had affected shoppers’ individual habits rather than where they shop.

Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “The issue has so far only affected the performance of individual markets rather than where consumers are choosing to shop.

“For the four weeks ending Feb 17, frozen burger sales were down by 43 per cent and frozen ready meals declined by 13 per cent, clearly demonstrating a change in shopping habits.”

The removal of hundreds of thousands of products from shelves is also likely to impact on sales.

Tesco remains the biggest supermarket, with a 29.7 per cent market share over the past 12 weeks, although that is down from 30.1 per cent during the same period last year. However, the dip is thought to be because of heavy discounting in 2012, rather than shoppers being turned off by the up to 100 per cent horsemeat found in its lasagne.

Sainsbury's is the only retailer in the Big Four to increase share in this period, beating the market with a 4.6 per cent growth rate. Morrisons is the only retailer to post a sales decline, down 1.3 per cent, despite being one of the least-affected supermarkets in the horsemeat scandal. Morrisons also suffered due to a lack of convenience stores and online presence.

Waitrose and Aldi both increased their market share during the period, despite pork being found in the former's frozen beef meatballs, and horsemeat found in the latter's bolognese and lasagnes.

Garner added: “Waitrose and Aldi deliver all-time record shares this period of 4.8 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively, indicating that market polarisation and the ‘two nations’ consumer climate continues.

“Iceland records 10.1 per cent growth confirming that the frozen food category as a whole remains robust.”

The total grocery market is growing at an annual rate of 3.7 per cent, which lags behind grocery price inflation of 4.3 per cent.

This confirms the continued pressure on shoppers who are using coping strategies to reduce the effect of inflation on their spending.

By arrangement with the Guardian