M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury's sales outperform grocery market

Tesco and Sainsbury’s continued to gain market share as shoppers turned to discounts amid concerns over rising prices.

Spending at Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) rose 4.3% in the 12 weeks to 19 April, lifting its market share to 28.1%, while J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) increased sales 4.5%, taking its share to 15.5%.

Both were outdone by Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS), where grocery sales increased 7.3% on last year, according to the latest Worldpanel grocery market share data from Numerator.

British households were said to be increasingly on the hunt for deals, with spending on promoted items rising 7.8% year on year. By contrast, spending on full-price goods fell 0.2%.

Promotions now account for 31.3% of grocery spending, with most driven by price cuts rather than multi-buy deals.

It meant grocery inflation eased to 3.8%, the lowest level in 12 months.

Despite this, shoppers remain cautious, with concerns over the Middle East conflict weighing on sentiment.

Fraser McKevitt at Worldpanel said households were already “feeling the squeeze” and responding by seeking out special offers.

Overall take-home grocery sales grew 0.9% over the four weeks to 19 April.

Among other retailers, Lidl was the fastest growing, with sales up 8.8% and market share reaching a record 8.4%, equalling that of Morrisons, where growth was only 1.1%.

Asda’s share stood at 11.6% as its sales fell 2.4%, while Aldi's growth was 1.2%, with market share at 10.6%. 

Despite widespread concern about inflation and household grocery bills, McKevitt noted that more premium-focused retailers outpaced the overall market.

Sales at online-only specialist Ocado, which stocks food from M&S, increased by 11.3%, taking share to 2.2%, up 0.2 percentage points on last year.

Market share for Waitrose held at 4.6%, as sales rose 3.8%, with spend per trip growing faster than at any other grocer.