Ocado has been crowned as the UK’s fastest growing supermarket as sales jumped 12.2% over the last 12 weeks.
The latest data from NIQ shows M&S retained its spot in second place, with sales increasing 11.9%.
Lidl slipped to third place reporting a 10.4% growth, followed by Sainsbury’s which sales rose 8%.
The news comes as NIQ found total till sales at UK supermarkets slowed to 5.3% in the four weeks to February 24, compared to a 6.6% growth reported last month.
It noted that online channel growth continues to outpace in-store growth at 7.9% compared to a 3.8% increase.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
NIQ UK head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said: “The resilience of online grocery shopping during the highest period of inflation in decades, when household penetration fell a little, is due to the changed lifestyles of consumers.
“When food inflation was in double digits, shoppers did cut back on large ‘trolley’ shops and online was also impacted.
“Whilst this growth is now against a weak comparative (-2.5%), it is also a normalisation of shopping behaviour for the one in four households who continue to shop this channel every four weeks and suggests that omnichannel shopping in food retail is here to stay.”
Watkins added: “Whilst industry volumes remain positive, many brands are now chasing growth having lost category share during the high period of inflation and are keen to communicate their own value among consumers.
He said levels of promotion are expected to “creep up” over the next few months, with branded promotions “the drivers of increased discretionary spend post Easter”.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
