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UK grocery sales picked up but price inflation eased, according to data from Worldpanel on Tuesday, while Tesco PLC achieved its strongest period of sales growth for almost two years. Total grocery sales in the 12 weeks to September 7 advanced 4.7% on-year to £35.48 billion from £33.88 billion. In the final four weeks of the survey, sales were 4.8% higher. But grocery price inflation for the final four weeks faded to 4.9%, from 5.0% a month earlier, Worldpanel said. ‘Prices might not be climbing quite as quickly, but they’re still on the rise and the battle between own label lines and brands continues as household finances remain tight. Supermarkets’ own lines now make up 51.2% of all sales, up from 50.9% a year ago. Sales of these products grew by 5.9% this period, just ahead of brands at 5.3%, but it’s the premium own label goods which are the real standout performers. Sales rose by an impressive 10.3% making it six months in a row that they’ve increased by double digits. ‘However, brands are holding ground in some categories, including toothbrushes, frozen chicken and baby toiletries, showing that consumers still value well-known names across some very different parts of the store,’ Worldpanel analyst Fraser McKevitt said. During the 12-week period, Tesco ‘won more market share than any other grocer’, Worldpanel said. It share of the market grew to 28.4% of all sales, from 27.6% a year prior. Tesco sales during the 12-week period rose 7.7% on-year to £10.07 billion, Worldpanel said, noting it was its loftiest growth since December 2023. J Sainsbury PLC sales grew 5.4% annually to £5.36 billion, with its share of the market nudging fractionally higher to 15.1% from 15.0%. Ocado Retail sales jumped 12% to £683 million and the online-only grocer’s share of the market now stands at 1.9%, compared to 1.8% a year prior. Ocado Retail is joint-owned by Ocado PLC and Marks & Spencer PLC. Elsewhere, Aldi’s market share was unchanged at 10.7%, while Lidl’s rose to 8.2% from, 7.8%. Asda’s shrunk to 11.8% from 12.7%. Tesco shares traded 1.4% lower in early dealings on Tuesday, Sainsbury’s fell 0.4%. Ocado fell 0.9% and M&S was down 0.9%. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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