|
UK grocery sales rose in January while inflation eased, according to new data from Wordpanel by Numerator on Tuesday, as own label spending climbed to a record level as customers looked to manage their budgets. UK grocery sales rose 3.6% year-on-year to £37.69 billion in the 12 weeks to January 25, 2026, while take-home sales across the four weeks to the same date were 3.8% higher. Grocery price inflation eased back to 4.0%, the lowest level since April last year, from 4.3% in December. Own label spending accounted for 52% of grocery spending, the highest level ever recorded. ‘For most shoppers, January is all about resetting household budgets, and this year was no exception. While grocery sales continue to grow and inflation eased to its lowest level in months, value remained front of mind for many with own label hitting a record high, accounting for more than half of all grocery spend,’ said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator. Promotional spending rose 11% on-year, marking the fastest rate of growth since October. Full price sales edged up by just 1.7% compared with the same four weeks last year. Lidl was the fastest-growing brick-and-mortar retailer, with sales up by 10% over the 12 week period, as its market share widened by 0.4 percentage points to 7.7%. Sales at Ocado Retail, the joint venture between Ocado PLC and Marks & Spencer Group PLC, increased by 14%, while the market share rose to 2.1% from 1.9% a year ago. J Sainsbury PLC saw a 5.3% rise in sales, driving a 0.2 percentage point market share gain to 16.2%. Tesco PLC also saw a 0.2 percentage point market share gain, as it took a 28.7% share of the market as sales rose 4.4%. Waitrose & Partners’ growth accelerated to 5.5%, while its market share held at 4.7%. Discount chain Aldi had an unchanged share at 10.1% as sales grew just ahead of the market, by 3.8%. Sales at Morrisons increased by 2.5%, while Iceland Foods increased sales by 3.2% with a market share of 2.3%. Asda holds 11.5% of grocery sales, while convenience store Co-op has a 5.0% share. Sales of grocery items at Marks & Spencer were 6.9% higher over the 12 week period. Shares in J Sainsbury were flat at 323.00 pence on Tuesday morning in London, while Tesco shares were flat at 431.40p. Marks & Spencer shares rose 3.0% to 380.90p, while Ocado shares were 0.2% higher at 212.20p. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
