Ocado continues to be the fastest growing grocery retailer in the UK, while M&S and Lidl maintained their improved sales performance over the important Valentine’s Day period.

According to the latest data from NIQ, Ocado saw sales jump 16.1% over the past 12 weeks, while Valentine’s Day dine-in for two deals helped drive sales at M&S, up 10.8%.

Discounters were the fastest growing grocery channel, up 6% over the period as Lidl and Aldi continued to improve sales, seeing growth of 8.4% and 4.7%, respectively.

Tesco led the growth of the nation’s big four supermarkets, with sales up 5.5%, closely followed by Sainsbury’s with a 4.7% increase. Waitrose grew by 3.8%, with an increase in shoppers compared to a year ago.

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NIQ head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said that the boost came as “Retailers capitalised on the opportunities around Valentine’s Day as shoppers wanted to create a special occasion at home.”

“With the pinch of the cost of living, many shoppers dined in to save money this year, with premium food options growing and themed meals and gifts very much in vogue for treating loved ones,” he explained.

In total, £962m was spent across Valentine’s Day on food and gifting, with £100m (+6.6%) spent on cut flowers, £5.8m (+27%) spent on toiletries gift packs and £19m (+11%) on fragrances.

NIQ found that shoppers also spent £137m on fresh ready meals, nearly £11m on Champagne and £38m on sparkling wine.

The figures come despite growth in total till sales at UK supermarkets having slowed (+4%) in the last four weeks to 22 February 2025, slightly down from the 5.3% recorded in January.

Watkins added: “There are three things to consider looking ahead. Firstly, the GfK Consumer Confidence Index for February suggested that people don’t expect the economy to show any dramatic signs of improvement and with many household bills, such as energy, water and council tax, increasing over the next few weeks, shoppers will be looking carefully at their discretionary spend.”

Thirdly, he said that the increase in food inflation reported by BRC-NIQ this week “looks to be a turning point”.

“The overall impact will be that many shoppers will need to seek out more discounts when shopping, in particular from supermarket loyalty schemes – maybe switching some food and drink away from out-of-home to supermarkets.”