UK retail adspend rises amid supermarket wars

LONDON - Increased competition between supermarket giants such as Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda, could fuel a surge in retail advertising spend in the weeks before Christmas, according to industry predictions.

Advertising spend by retailers could hit 拢99m in December, up 5% on last year according to Mindshare managing partner Steve Tindall.

This figure compares with December 2001, when spend in this sector fell 1% on the previous year.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal Europe, Tindall said the current marketplace is "much more aggressive in terms of trying to increase market share."

Advertising in this sector is also performing well in the beleaguered German market. In October, retail advertising spend rose 12%, according to Christof Baron, managing director of WPP Group-owned MindShare. December's retail adspend is expected to be up between 5% and 7% on last year.

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