Sainsbury’s has reported a rise in quarterly grocery sales of 11% as the supermarket shifts its focus to “battling inflation”.
The Big 4 grocer saw revenues jump 9.2% in the 16 weeks to 24 June, with like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, up 9.8%.
Sainsbury’s said the stronger sales growth was primarily driven by a return to volume growth, as customers continue to return to stores.
Since March, the supermarket has invested over £60m in lowering prices, with price cuts on over 120 household essentials such as bread, butter, milk, pasta, chicken and toilet roll.
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Last week, Sainsbury’s invested £15m in its latest round of price drops and launched a second round of price cuts across its own-brand milk range.
Chief executive Simon Roberts said: “We are putting all of our energy and focus into battling inflation so that customers get the very best prices when they shop with us.
“Prices on our top 100 selling products are now lower than they were in March, against a market where prices have gone up.”
Roberts added that customers have saved over £90m since Nectar Prices was launched in April, with over one million new customers signed up to the digital loyalty scheme.
The grocer has also invested in value through its Stamford Street entry price range, which saw a re-brand in May, as well as its Aldi Price Match campaign.
As a result of strong grocery momentum, Sainsbury’s outlook remains unchanged, and it expects to deliver underlying profit before tax of between £640m and £700m.
