Three of Britain’s biggest supermarkets were the big winners at Christmas, according to industry data published by Kantar on Tuesday.
Market leader Tesco, number-two retailer Sainsbury’s and discounter Lidl posted sales growth of 5.0%, 3.5% and 6.6% respectively.
Number-three supermarket Asda remained the industry laggard, with sales down 5.8% in the 12 weeks to 29 December compared with the previous year, Kantar said.
Tesco’s strong performance increased its share of the market to 28.5%, while Sainsbury’s achieved its highest share since December 2019 at 16.0%.
Annual grocery price inflation was 3.7% in the four-week December period – its highest level since March, and a jump on the 2.6% in last month’s report.
UK supermarkets have warned that tax rises and another increase in national minimum wage could be inflationary in 2025.
Separate data from the British Retail Consortium on Tuesday showed that Black Friday spending helped lift retail sales in late 2024 but overall sales in the final quarter proved disappointing.
Kantar said £13 billion passed through UK supermarket tills over the four weeks to 29 December, with take-home grocery sales up 2.1% year-on-year.
In terms of sales over the 12-week period, Marks & Spencer’s food and drink business rose 8.7%, Kantar said, while online supermarket Ocado once again came in on top with a 9.6% jump.
Tesco led its rivals in terms of market share at 28.5%, followed by Sainsbury’s (16%), Asda (12.5%), Aldi (10.0%), Morrisons (8.6%), Lidl (7.3%), Co-Operative (5.3%), Waitrose (4.6%), Iceland (2.3%) and Ocado (1.8%).
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