Discounters are making big gains in the UK and Ireland as shoppers struggle with a weak economy and the threat of inflation.
   In the UK, Aldi has again led the grocery market in terms of growth over the past three months, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel. The discounter posted growth of more than 25% over a 12 week period. That was five times the growth of the market as a whole. Aldi grew its market share to 3.5% over the period, up from just 3% for the equivalent period last year, while Lidl also took market share up to 2.5%.
   Market share data tells the same story in Ireland. The latest grocery market figures from Kantar for the 12 weeks ending October 2, indicates that Aldi has pushed its year-on-year market share up by 26.5% to 4.5% of the overall market. The next biggest increase was by Tesco, which increased its share ahead by 3% to a market-leading 27.8%.