UK grocery sales are expected to surpass £13 billion for the first time this December, according to new research.

The study from Kantar also found that sales grew by 6.3 per cent to £11.7 billion over the four weeks to 26 November 2023.

The figures come as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) also releases figures suggesting that many households have “held back” on Christmas spending in the four weeks to 25 November, with total retail sales below three per cent.

The organisation found that total retail sales increased by 2.7 per cent in November, compared with a 4.2 per cent rise in November 2022.

Kantar revealed that Lidl is the fastest growing grocer, boosting sales by 14.2 per cent over the 12 weeks to 26 November to take a record share of 7.8 per cent.

Aldi increased sales by 11.1 per cent and now holds 9.6 per cent of the market, while sales at Asda and Morrisons were up by 2.6 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively. Asda now holds 13.4 per cent of the market share, while Morrison holds 8.7 per cent.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said that during the period the two largest UK supermarkets "continued their fightback" in the battle for market share.

“Sainsbury’s delivered its largest market share gain in over a decade this November, taking an additional 0.4 percentage points to reach 15.6 per cent," he continued. "The last time it made this big a jump was in March 2013."

Kantar said that its growth was largely driven by the continued success of its own-label offer, with sales of its 'Taste the Difference' range up by 23 per cent year on year.

Tesco also had strong performance, with market share increasing to 27.5 per cent following growth in sales of 8.6 per cent - the fifth month in a row that it made gains.

“The scene is set for record-breaking spend through the supermarket tills this Christmas," said McKevitt. "The festive period is always a bumper one for the grocers with consumers buying on average 10 per cent more items than in a typical month.

"Some of the increase, of course, will also be driven by the ongoing price inflation we’ve seen this year. While the rate at which grocery prices are rising is still well above the norm, the good news for shoppers is that inflation is continuing to come down."

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