LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - British online supermarket Ocado and discounter Lidl recorded the highest sales growth in the Christmas quarter, while market leader Tesco and number two Sainsbury's also delivered solid performances, industry data showed on Tuesday.
Market researcher Worldpanel by Numerator said overall grocery sales were 13.8 billion pounds ($18.7 billion) in the four weeks to December 28, up 3.8% year-on-year.
However, when grocery inflation of 4.3% is taken into account, sales on a volume basis were down. Inflation eased slightly from the 4.7% level recorded in the previous four week period.
SUBDUED CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AHEAD OF CHRISTMAS
Subdued consumer confidence had left analysts cautious about non-food UK retailers' festive trading prospects, though they were more optimistic about food sellers.
Worldpanel said Ocado's sales rose 15.0% over the 12 weeks to December 28 compared with the same period a year ago, while Lidl was the fastest growing bricks and mortar grocer with sales up 10.0%.
Ocado's stock rose as much as 8.5% in early deals to the highest level since September 12, while shares in Tesco and Sainsbury's were up 1.7% and 1.6% respectively.
Tesco's sales were 4.3% higher than in 2024, with its market share rising by 20 basis points to 28.7% - its highest since March 2015. Sainsbury's sales rose 5.2%, taking its share to 16.3%.
Number three player Asda continued to struggle - its sales fell 4.2% and its market share fell to 11.4%, down a whole percentage point on the year.
Sales of groceries at Marks & Spencer rose 7.2% over the 12 weeks year-on-year. M&S is not included in Worldpanel's market share data.
The inflation figure from Worldpanel provides an early indication of pricing pressures ahead of official UK inflation data on January 21.
Lidl and Aldi have already updated on Christmas trading. Tesco and M&S are scheduled to report on Thursday, with Sainsbury's following on Friday.
UK supermarkets' market share and sales growth (%)
Market share Market % change in
12 weeks to share 12 sales
December 28 weeks to (year-on-ye
2025 December ar)
29 2024
Tesco 28.7 28.5 4.3
Sainsbury's 16.3 16.0 5.2
Asda 11.4 12.4 -4.2
Aldi 10.1 10.1 3.9
Morrisons 8.5 8.6 2.6
Lidl 7.8 7.3 10.0
Co-operative 5.1 5.3 -1.3
Waitrose 4.7 4.6 4.5
Iceland 2.3 2.3 3.4
Ocado 2.1 1.9 15.0
Source: Worldpanel by Numerator
($1 = 0.7390 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; additional reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)
By James Davey
