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UK grocery inflation eased to its lowest level in a year in April, but shoppers are increasingly turning to promotions amid concerns about the impact of the Middle East conflict on everyday prices, industry data showed on Tuesday. According to Worldpanel by Numerator, take-home grocery sales increased 0.9% in the four weeks to April 19 compared with the same period a year earlier. Like-for-like grocery inflation fell to 3.8%, the lowest since April 2025, suggesting the impact of the conflict in the Middle East has not yet filtered through to supermarket shelves. However, spending on promoted items rose 7.8% year-on-year, while spending on full-price goods fell 0.2%. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator, said: ‘Concerns about the impact of the Middle East conflict on prices of everyday goods are front of mind for British households. Already feeling the squeeze at the petrol pump, shoppers are responding by turning to special offers in growing numbers when buying groceries.’ The proportion of grocery spending on promotions stood at 31%, having risen annually every month since July 2023. Worldpanel said price cuts are driving the trend, with four in every five pounds spent on promotional items used on price reductions rather than multi-buys. Seasonal demand around Easter supported sales. Fresh lamb joint sales rose 15% in the four weeks to Easter Sunday compared with the same run up to the holiday weekend in 2025, which fell on April 5 this year, with 2.6 million households buying one in the seven days to April 5. Sales of hot cross buns increased 14% in the same period. ‘Easter is always an important indicator of consumer mood, and shoppers did not hold back on the traditional staples this year,’ McKevitt said. ‘However, with the conflict in the Middle East continuing to fuel concerns about price increases, the promotional data suggests that shoppers are already looking for ways to keep grocery bills down.’ Spring cleaning also lifted sales, with cleaning product purchases up 8% on a year earlier. Over the 12 weeks to April 19, Lidl reached a record market share of 8.4%, up from 8.0% a year earlier. Sales rose 8.8%, helped by the addition of more than half a million shoppers. Tesco PLC sales rose 4.3%, lifting its market share to 28.1% from 27.7%. J Sainsbury PLC sales increased 4.5%, with its share rising to 15.5% from 15.3%. Morrisons sales rose 1.1%, leaving its share at 8.4%, while Asda held an 11.6% share. Aldi sales increased 1.2%, with its share at 10.6%. Ocado Retail, a joint venture of Ocado Group PLC and Marks & Spencer Group PLC, was the fastest growing grocer, with sales up 11.3% and market share rising to 2.2% from 2.0%. Waitrose sales rose 3.8%, keeping its market share at 4.6%, while Iceland sales increased 2.1%, leaving its share at 2.3%. Co-op held 5.1% of the take-home grocery market. Separately, grocery sales at Marks & Spencer rose 7.3%. Worldpanel does not classify M&S as a grocer under its methodology due to the higher proportion of clothing and general merchandise in its sales mix. Shares in Tesco rose 0.4% to 481.90 pence in London on Tuesday morning. Sainsbury was down 0.8% at 330.20p. M&S rose 0.6% to 332.18p and Ocado was up marginally at 204.40p. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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