Total till sales at UK supermarkets grew by 3.3 per cent in the four weeks to 21 February, and inflation continued to cool down to 3.5 per cent from 3.9 per cent according to the latest figures from NielsenIQ (NIQ).

Ocado and Lidl continued to dominate the retail category, with a 14.4 per cent and 9.9 per cent sales increase, respectively.

M&S and Waitrose experienced a sales rise of 6.5 per cent and 6.1 per cent each, which was boosted by Valentine’s Day.

Retailers Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Aldi saw sales go up by 5.7 per cent, 4 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively; however, Aldi’s overall market share decreased.

Co-op and Asda remained in sales slump, experiencing a decrease of 0.6 per cent and 4 per cent respectively following months of a weak performance.

Asda’s overall grocery market share went down to 11.1 per cent compared to 12 per cent in the same period last year.

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The data found that for the first time in over a year, there was a decrease in the frequency of shopping due to the number of items in the basket assisted by ecommerce.

However, retailers received a boost over Valentine’s Day, with shoppers spending £58.5m on private-label ready meals, with 45 per cent in the premium range.

Despite the Valentine’s Day spend, consumers are remaining cautious, with 15 per cent of household shoppers saving money by switching to private label products, 16 per cent choosing more affordable brands and 18 per cent buying from discounter stores.

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said: “There was a small increase in basket size in the last four weeks and whilst it is too soon to say if this is a turning point in shopper behaviour, these big events encouraged shoppers to spend more and it’s possible that some are bringing some spend forward to help manage budgets ahead of Easter.”