Sainsbury’s grocery sales increased 9.3% in its last quarter, while Christmas grocery sales rose 8.6% as more shoppers flocked to the supermarket giant.
Total like-for-like sales excluding fuel were up 7.4% in the 16 weeks to 6 January 2024, while volume growth was ahead of the market for the fourth consecutive Christmas, outperforming in meat, fish, poultry, dairy, fruit and vegetables.
Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts said the strong performance was driven in part by December 2023 being the retailer’s first Christmas powered by Nectar Prices.
He said this helped customers save an average of £16 on an £80 Christmas shop, with Nectar Prices now available on more than 6,000 products.
“We delivered our best ever value Christmas roast and customers bought record numbers of pigs in blankets, mince pies and sparkling wine,” Roberts added.
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Over the quarter, Sainsbury’s outperformed the premium food market with sales of its own-label brand, Taste the Difference, up 13%.
Roberts said the success was also down to Sainsbury’s “market leading customer service”.
The supermarket noted that product availability improved significantly from investment in AI-driven demand forecasting technology, which also resulted in smoother stockflows into stores.
Looking ahead, Sainsbury’s expects underlying pre-tax profit of between £670m and £700m for the year.
Roberts added: “We enter 2024 with strong momentum and next month we will share our updated strategy, building on all we’ve done to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s over the last three years.
“There is a lot to be excited about and we remain absolutely committed to deliver for our customers, colleagues and shareholders.”
