Leading super supermarkets are expected to report blunted growth in June, going against expectations of a big pickup from last year, when the nationwide scare from a respiratory disease cramped sales, according to industry sources Thursday.

Although not official, all three major supermarket chains -- Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Homeplus -- are estimated to have suffered either negative or miniscule at best growth in June compared with the same month last year.

Sources at Lotte Mart put June's growth at 0.2 percent. The estimate for E-Mart, which registered 4.4 percent for May, stopped at single digit growth for June, according to the sources.

The supermarket chains have been hoping for a healthy on-year recovery as consumers rebound from last year's Middle East Respiratory Syndrome  epidemic that had kept shoppers at home.

"We cannot release June figures yet because of regulatory rules but considering the base effect from MERS last year, the results fall short of expectations," an E-Mart official said.

Homeplus, believed to be faring the worst of the three, stopped releasing monthly growth figures this year to avoid any negative influence on its business.

"We are no longer announcing our monthly growth rate from this year as a company policy," a Homeplus official said. "It is true that the industry conditions of late are not very good."

Industry sources said Lotte Mart and E-Mart found some reprieve from the slump by developing their own private brands and diversifying their businesses, making the losses starker for Homeplus.

Sources said a shift in consumers' shopping patterns, from offline to online, has also eroded business for supermarket chains.

"You see customers at department stores because they mostly sell high-end goods," one source said. "But consumers shopping for routine household goods are quickly switching over to online outlets." (Yonhap)