Ocado was the fastest-growing retailer over the four weeks leading up to Christmas, while momentum at M&S continued as it hit its highest-ever market share on record of 4.8%.

According to the latest data from NIQ, over the four weeks to 28 December 2024, Ocado saw sales jump 13.9%, while M&S also fared well with sales up 6.8%.

However, discounters was the fastest-growing channel, up 5.5%, with Aldi and Lidl’s combined market share increasing to 16.3%, up from 15.8% a year ago.

Meanwhile, Tesco grew market share and sales, up 4.5%, with a 3.1% sales increase for Sainsbury’s, which held its market share.

It comes as UK grocery hit a record £14.6bn in sales over the final three weeks leading up to Christmas, with grocery sales helped by the highest levels of promotions seen in three years.

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According to NIQ, 27% of all FMCG sales were purchased on promotions, with 37% of this driven by brands in the four week period.

NIQ UK head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said: “This has no doubt helped to boost purchasing over the Christmas period. In particular, this was led by Tesco and Sainsbury’s where promotional spending on FMCG increased to 35% and 34% respectively as these retailers engaged shoppers with big loyalty app savings.”

Despite this, total till sales growth slowed at UK supermarkets, with a rise of 3.2% over the last four weeks, down from a 3.7% increase in the previous month.

In-store visits were up 8%, helping in-store sales to increase 3.6% on this time last year, however this came at the expense of online, where sales fell 1.7%, with online share falling to 11.9%, from 12.5% a year ago.

The average basket value of £21.95 was also down 4.9% compared to last year, which NIQ said suggests that shoppers are still bearing the brunt of the high cost of living.

Despite this, Watkins said that overall, “it was a good Christmas for most food retailers with sales growths in line with the expectations that had been set in the last three months”.

“The topline growths were helped by the return of low inflation but also by shoppers being inclined to buy more in the final week leading up to Christmas Eve. However, shoppers still had to spend more money this year on household bills before buying Christmas indulgences and this may have taken the edge off the growth in some other categories such as alcohol and also household.”

He added: “Looking ahead to 2025, we expect shoppers to keep managing their budgets by shopping smart and shopping around for wherever the savings are the most attractive. This means that shopping ‘little and often’ will continue with omnichannel shopping becoming an even bigger consumer trend across the industry.”