Business
UK supermarket sales growth slows after summer holidays
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on September 18, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on September 18, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
LONDON (Reuters) – British supermarket sales growth slowed over the last month as consumers trimmed spending after their summer holidays, industry data showed on Wednesday.
LONDON (Reuters) – British supermarket sales growth slowed over the last month as consumers trimmed spending after their summer holidays, industry data showed on Wednesday.
Market researcher NIQ said UK supermarket sales rose 4% in the four weeks to Sept. 7, after rising by 5.5% in last month’s report.
“This slowdown in growth is likely due to cooler weather and a return to regular routines for shoppers after the summer break,” NIQ said.
The researcher’s data, the most up-to-date snapshot of UK consumer behaviour, showed the online channel’s share of supermarket spend increased to 13% from 12.5% a year ago.
Echoing data from rival market researcher Kantar last week, NIQ said online grocer Ocado was the fastest growing with sales growth of 15.4% over the 12 weeks to Sept. 7. Marks & Spencer was in second place with growth of 12.4% and discounter Lidl third with growth of 11.3%.
Market leader Tesco saw sales growth of 5.3%, while No. 2 Sainsbury’s saw growth of 5.9%.
No. 3 player Asda was again the laggard with a sales fall of 5.5% and it lost 1.3 percentage points of market share over the year.
Separately on Wednesday, official UK data showed UK inflation stood at an annual rate of 2.2% in August, unchanged from July. Food inflation was 1.3%.
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Jason Neely)
Supermarket sales growth refers to the increase in revenue generated by supermarkets over a specific period, often measured as a percentage change compared to previous periods.
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power. It is typically measured annually.
Online grocery shopping allows consumers to purchase food and household items via the internet, often providing convenience and home delivery options.
Market share is the portion of a market controlled by a particular company or product, often expressed as a percentage of total sales in that market.
Food inflation refers to the increase in prices of food items over time, impacting consumers' purchasing power and overall cost of living.
Explore more articles in the Business category
