Ocado retained its top position as the fastest-growing retailer over the 12 weeks to 22 February 2026, with sales increasing by 15.1 per cent and market share growing to 1.9 per cent, according to the latest figures from Worldpanel (formerly known as Kantar).

Discount retailer Lidl experienced a 10 per cent increase in sales, growing faster than brick-and-mortar rivals to account for 7.8 per cent of the market.

Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose saw sales go up by 5.2 per cent, 4.5 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively.

Waitrose’s market share went up to 4.8 per cent from 4.7 per cent last year, which marks the highest level in three years.

Aldi’s and Morrisons’ sales went up by 3.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent year-on-year, and the retailers now hold a market share of 10.1 per cent and 8.4 per cent, respectively.

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Asda and Co-op continued to experience a sales decline of 2.6 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively.

The research also found that like-for-like grocery price inflation increased slightly to 4.3 per cent, having dropped within the previous four months.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator, said: “Looking ahead to Easter, shoppers will notice that chocolate prices remain high, up 9.3% year on year.

“While this is still a significant rise, the pace of inflation in the category is beginning to ease and is now at its lowest level since September 2025.”

Overall take-home sales went up by 3.4 per cent in the four weeks to 22 February 2026 compared with the year prior.

Valentine’s Day provided a boost for retailers, with spending on high-end meal deals hitting £39m and the online grocery channel reaching the highest share since July 2021.