Lidl has reached a record share of the U.K. grocery market, as the 'big four' continue to lose ground.

Sales at the Germany-based discount retailer jumped 7.7% in the three months to 11 August, according to Kantar. This was fuelled by a burst of store openings that attracted nearly 500,000 more customers, compared with the same period of 2018.

The influx of shoppers helped Lidl attain a 5.9% market share – its largest to date.

"Its campaign to encourage people to do their main weekly shop at Lidl is making an impact and the average basket spend is now nearly £19, 3% higher than last year, though still significantly lower than the £22.65 average spend at the big four," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.

Aldi, Lidl's rival, has also seen growth in market share, which is now at 8.1%

Meanwhile, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons have all lost market share over the last year. Tesco's share has shrunk from 27.4% to 27%; Sainsbury's has dropped from 15.5% to 15.4%; Asda's has shrunk from 15.2% to 14.9%; and Morrisons has dropped from 10.3% to 10.1%.

Once again Ocado claimed the top spot as the UK’s fastest-growing grocer, increasing sales by 12.6% this period. The online retailer increased its shopper base by 7%.