Asda saw a jump in its first-quarter sales as demand for online grocery shopping continues to grow.

In the first quarter to 31 March 2024, the supermarket giant delivered a 6.6% increase in total sales, excluding fuel, to £5.3bn, alongside 1.4% growth in like-for-like sales.

It comes as online grocery now represents 18% of food sales, driven by a 5.6% increase in the number of average weekly orders over the period.

Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa said that in online grocery, Asda is now “firmly established as the number two player in the market.”

However, the grocer noted that a “particularly strong contribution” to its positive sales performance came from its clothing brand George at Asda, which it claimed “outperformed” the fashion and homewares markets during the quarter.

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George grew its total clothing revenues by 3% to £293m over the period and by 3% on a like for like basis, as it said customers responded positively to its investment in price, style and quality credentials.

Top performing categories included schoolwear, which saw sales up 11%, and homewares, where sales rose 11.7%.

Speaking of the performance, Issa said: “Asda made good progress against its strategy in the quarter, laying the foundations for long-term success – including completing the conversion of our newly acquired sites to Asda Express, as part of our strategic expansion into the growth markets of convenience and food-to-go.”

The grocer now remains on track to reach 500 Express convenience stores by the end of the year, and has commenced its £50m store upgrade programme to improve the customer experience across 173 sites.

“We did this while continuing to deliver great range, value and convenience, including investing in lower prices and the quality of our food and non-food at a time when the household budgets of our customers remain under pressure,” Issa added.

It comes as the retailer continues to invest in the value and quality credentials of its food offering, which resulted in a 1.3% increase in like for like grocery sales.

During the quarter, Asda became the first supermarket to price match both Aldi and Lidl, a scheme which now features more than 400 products, and after the quarter ended, it unveiled new price cuts worth £70m on hundreds of items.