During Q1, grocery volumes increased 4.8% year-on-year, continuing on from the large rises seen during 2023/24. Meanwhile, total retail sales across Sainsbury's and Argos combined (excluding fuel) rose by 2.6% in the same period.
Sainsbury’s earned the biggest market share gains of any grocer during the quarter, with its share increasing to 15.2% as of 9 June according to Kantar data. It remains the second largest grocer in the UK behind Tesco.
Kantar data showed that Sainsbury’s is driving basket size growth ahead of all competitors, while its perception among consumers has improved. The retailer also saw Groceries Online participation increase to 14% and sales via its OnDemand service rise by 80% year-on-year.
Alongside its results, Sainsbury’s said that it remains focused on “addressing food poverty in the UK and taking further action to reduce food waste”.
In order to achieve this, it has partnered with Olio to redistribute surplus food following the completion of a successful trial period.
Commenting on the Q1 results, Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said: “We are pleased with our market-beating grocery performance and the early progress we’re making against our Next Level Sainsbury's plan. We’ve been winning from competitors every month for 15 months, as more and more people are choosing Sainsbury's for their big weekly shop.
“We are laser focused on delivering the best combination of value and quality in the market and our customers are recognising that with 98% of big baskets including Nectar Prices or Aldi Price Match. Innovation continues to be a top priority and we launched 400 new products this quarter, almost half of which were Taste the Difference, which continues to outperform a strong premium market. Our Summer ranges are the perfect complement to this Summer of Sport and we’re gearing up for Wimbledon this week and England’s quarter final match on Saturday night.
“Our food business is going from strength to strength and I would like to thank all of my colleagues and our suppliers and farmers for the brilliant job they are doing every day to deliver for all our customers.”
In other news, Heineken UK has announced plans to relocate its headquarters to a new site in Edinburgh.