Sainsbury’s scoops sales from Paralympics

The Paralympic sponsor increased sales by 5.6 per cent year on year in the 12 weeks to September, lifting its market share by 0.3 percentage points to 16.5 per cent.

The supermarket’s growth was also driven by its Brand Match promotion and the continuation of the relaunch of its own brand range, according to Kantar Worldpanel director Edward Garner.

Upmarket rival Waitrose marked a record breaking quarter, posting its highest ever share at 4.7 per cent and a 9.3 per cent sales boost. Ahead of the reporting period the supermarket stepped up its Brand Price Match promotion by extending it to all branded grocery products as it looked to reassure customers they could do their entire weekly shop at its stores.

At the opposite end of the sector, Aldi continued its acceleration in growth. The discount chain marked a 25 per cent increase in sales and moved up 0.5 percentage points to have a 2.9 per cent share of the sector.

Elsewhere, there was further evidence that Tesco’s tentative sales recovery was continuing. Kantar’s figures had the chains sales up 3.3 per cent in the period but the UK’s biggest supermarket lost 0.2 percentage points in market share to its rivals.

Last week the retailer reported sales were up 0.1 per cent in the UK in the three months to 25 August.

Morrisons also lost share again in the period and was down 0.4 percentage points to 11.4 per cent, while sales were flat. It continues to lag behind its rivals due to its lack of convenience stores, although it plans to launch 15 additional M Local smaller format outlets by the end of this year.

Asda added 0.1 share points in the period, having increased sales by 3.4 per cent.

The grocery market as a whole grew by 3.9 per cent, above the Kantar Worldpanel inflation measure of 2.6 per cent – suggesting it is a growth market in spite of the austerity measures consumers are taking elsewhere with their spending.