23rd Jun 2026 08:00
(Alliance News) - UK grocery spending was helped by record temperatures, while grocery price inflation eased slightly in recent weeks, helping concerns about further price rises, data showed on Wednesday.
According to data from Worldpanel by Numerator, annual grocery price inflation in the four weeks to June 14 was 3.0%, easing from 3.1% in the month ended May 17.
For the full 12 weeks of the survey to June 14, UK grocery sales rose 1.5% to GBP36.56 billion from GBP36.01 billion a year prior.
In the final four weeks, take-home sales increased by 2.4%, in a period which coincided with the UK's hottest May day on record and a ten-day heatwave.
"Suncare sales more than doubled (+128%), while fresh beef burgers were up 40%. Fresh prepared salads and chilled dips each grew by 13%, as households looking to take advantage of the warm weather wheeled out their barbecues," Worldpanel said.
"No- and low-alcohol drinks also performed strongly, up 23% and outpacing the wider beer and cider category, which saw growth of 6%. Syrups for water were another winner over the four weeks, up 31% year on year, indicating that online viral trends such as #WaterTok, the trend of mixing sugar-free syrups into water popularised on platforms such as TikTok, are filtering through to shopper behaviour."
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail & consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator, said: "Barbecue staples performing well and shoppers turning to healthier options are a common summer trend, and we can expect to see this continue over the rest of June and into July, with the warm weather forecast to continue."
Tesco PLC sales in the 12 week period rose 1.6% on-year to GBP10.22 billion, with its market share down marginally to 28.0% from 28.1%. It is the market leader.
J Sainsbury PLC sales rose 2.0% to GBP5.58 billion from GBP5.48 billion, and its share of the market nudged up to 15.3% from 15.2%.
Ocado Retail, an Ocado PLC and Marks & Spencer Group PLC joint venture, was the fastest growing. Sales jumped 14% to GBP807 million from GBP711 million, while its market share grew to 2.2% from 2.0%.
Lidl had the greatest increase in market share, up to 8.7% from 8.2%, as its sales climbed 8.6% to GBP3.19 billion.
Aldi's share of the UK grocery market fell to 10.7% from 10.9%, while Asda's shrunk to 11.5% from 12.1%. Asda sales fell 3.6% to GBP4.20 billion.
Morrisons' share was steady at 8.4%, while convenience retailer Co-op returned to growth as its market share rose to 5.3% from 5.2%.
Sales at Waitrose grew by 1.7% and 2.2% at Iceland. Both retailers maintained the same market share, at 4.5% and 2.2%, respectively.
M&S does not fit the definition of grocer per the survey's methodology, though Worldpanel noted its grocery sales shot up 12% over the 12 weeks.
Worldpanel said the share of grocery spending on promotion rose on-year for the 39th consecutive month, with 30.4% of all sales now on some form of deal.
"Nearly a third of all grocery spending is now on promotion, and that upward streak shows no sign of breaking. Combined with strong online growth, it points to shoppers who know what they want and are increasingly confident about where and how to find the best deal. In short, retailers are having to compete hard for that summer shop," McKevitt added.
The survey is based on over 75,000 identical products compared year-on-year.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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