Ocado has been named the fastest growing supermarket as consumers continue to shop around for their weekly groceries.
According to the latest data from NIQ, sales at the online-only supermarket were up 12.2% over the 12 weeks to February 24.
M&S was the second fastest growing retailer of the period with sales up 11.9%, while sales momentum at discounters Lidl (+10.4%) and Aldi (+6%) continues to slow.
Across the full-line grocers, Sainsbury’s and Tesco both experienced an increase in market share, while Morrisons and Asda saw slower growth.
NIQ UK head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said: “The resilience of online grocery shopping during the highest period of inflation in decades, when household penetration fell a little, is due to the changed lifestyles of consumers.”
One in four households continue to shop online every four weeks, which he said, “suggests that omnichannel shopping in food retail is here to stay.”
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Online channels also maintain a higher share of all FMCG sales growth, which is up 7.9% in comparison to in-store growth at 3.8%.
However, NIQ found that in-store visits are up 0.9% compared to last year.
Total till sales at UK supermarkets slowed to 5.3% in the four weeks to 24 February, down from 6.6% last month, which NIQ said came as a result of food inflation falling to 5%.
It found that grocery retailers looked to attract shoppers through promotional offers as 24% of all FMCG sales were items on promotion, rising to 35% for branded items.
Sales of supermarket own-label goods on promotion rose to 16%, compared to 13% last year.
Watkins added: “Whilst industry volumes remain positive, many brands are now chasing growth having lost category share during the high period of inflation and are keen to communicate their own value among consumers.
“We expect the levels of promotion to continue to creep up over the next few months. Brands are also going to be important to sustain the recovery in FMCG spend and with Euro 2024 and Paris Olympics on the horizon, branded promotions will be the drivers of increased discretionary spend post-Easter.”
