Lidl leaves Mercadona trailing as Portuguese supermarket battle heats up

In Portugal, supermarket shelves are turning into quite the battleground. For Mercadona, the challenge isn’t about getting people through the door, after all, the Spanish chain is drawing in more Portuguese shoppers and rapidly expanding across the country. However, when it comes to where these customers spend their weekly grocery money, Lidl is increasingly emerging as the preferred choice.

This makes the latest numbers particularly telling for Mercadona. Even with its growing footprint in Portugal, the gap between these two Spanish competitors has widened to 6.4 percentage points. Lidl now holds 13.8% of the grocery market, while Mercadona lags at 7.4%.

Lidl pulls ahead

Data from Worldpanel by Numerator for the first half of 2026 shows a crucial difference between the two chains. While Mercadona is connecting with more households, Lidl is getting its customers to shop more often. This strategy is helping Lidl solidify its market position without just relying on opening more stores. That’s where the real competition lies between these retailers.

Mercadona made its debut in Portugal back in July 2019, launching its first store in Vila Nova de Gaia. Since then, it has built a strong network and aims to reach the Algarve by the end of 2026. The Portuguese wing of its business reported revenues of €2.092 billion in 2025, up 18% from the year before, and profits catapulted from €7 million in 2024 to €26 million. Still, this impressive growth hasn’t resulted in a similar rise in market share.

Mercadona attracts more households

In the first half of 2026, Mercadona’s market share dipped by 0.1 percentage points to 7.4%, while Lidl gained 1.3 points, climbing to 13.8%. This puts Lidl comfortably ahead of Mercadona as the competition in Portugal’s supermarket scene heats up. The difference seems to stem from consumer behaviour.

Portuguese households are becoming more inclined to split their shopping across various supermarkets, picking where to shop based on factors like price, convenience, product selection, and overall value. For Lidl, this trend is working in its favor. Its growth has significantly come from existing customers shopping more frequently, thereby fostering a stronger relationship with them rather than just trying to reel in new shoppers.

Why Lidl is gaining ground

On the other hand, Mercadona has succeded in reaching more Portuguese households. The percentage shopping at Mercadona rose from 53.1% to 55.6%. However, this increase hasn’t translated into a more substantial shopping frequency, basket sizes, or spending per visit.

Its narrower product range might also be a barrier to turning new customers into regular shoppers. Worldpanel by Numerator points out that Portuguese consumers tend to mix their purchases among different chains, influenced by factors like brand variety.

Continente and Pingo Doce still dominate

However, above these two Spanish contenders, Portugal’s well-established supermarket giants continue to lead the way. Continente maintained a 27.6% market share in the first half of the year, despite a slight drop of 0.3 percentage points, while Pingo Doce bolstered its position to 22.3%, gaining 0.9 points. Combined, these two chains represent exactly half of the grocery market in Portugal.

Mercadona faces a bigger challenge

So, while Lidl isn’t claiming the entirety of Portugal’s supermarket market, its rising performance against Mercadona is hard to overlook. As Mercadona keeps opening new stores and reaching more households, Lidl has figured out how to encourage its existing customers to shop more often.

For Mercadona, the challenge is no longer just about getting Portuguese consumers to give them a try, it’s about convincing them to make Mercadona a larger part of their regular shopping trips.