Sainsbury’s has posted a jump in quarterly sales as it ups investment into customer value.
Chief executive Simon Roberts said Sainsbury’s is committed to offering shoppers “the very best prices”, especially as food inflation is starting to ease.
Total revenue for the grocer surged 9.2% in the 16 weeks to 24 June, with like-for-like sales excluding fuel up 9.8%.
Grocery sales for the period jumped 11%, boosted by a return to volume growth and £60m investment into lowering prices on more than 120 food essentials.
This helped to offset a 1.2% fall in general merchandise and 3.7% decline in clothing revenue, which the supermarket said was due to the cooler start to the season.
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Sainsbury’s said trading was in line with expectations and expects to deliver an underlying profit before tax of between £640m and £700m.
“We are putting all of our energy and focus into battling inflation so that customers get the very best prices when they shop with us, particularly now as household budgets are under more pressure than ever,” said Roberts.
“Food inflation is starting to fall and we are fully committed to passing on savings to our customers.
“Prices on our top 100 selling products are now lower than they were in March, against a market where prices have gone up.”
Roberts added that customers have saved over £90m since the grocer launched Nectar Prices earlier this year, offering its loyalty members exclusive pricing.
To further its investment into customer value, Sainsbury’s also consolidated all its value brands to its Stamford Street label.
“All of this is underpinned by the continued delivery of our cost saving programmes,” said Roberts.
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