Market research firm Kantar has shared its grocery sales data for the four weeks to 23rd February, reporting a 3.6% increase in take-home sales at the grocers.
Take-home sales at the grocers increased by 3.6% over the four weeks to 23rd February compared with the year prior, while grocery inflation stood at 3.3%.
Retailer promotions helped to hold grocery price inflation steady at 3.3% in February 2025, as spending on deals rose again. Items bought on offer accounted for 27.6% of sales, a rise of 0.3% on last year. Premium own label lines also continued to be popular, growing at 13.3% over the month of February.
Tesco held 28.3% of the market, with its sales growth at its highest since March 2024 at 5.8%.
Sainsbury’s increased its market share to 15.7%, while Morrisons held 8.6% of the market. Asda held 12.6%, down 5% from the year prior.
Ocado was the fastest-growing retailer for the tenth consecutive month with spending increasing by 9.6% – holding its share of the market at 1.9%. M&S has also continued its growth trajectory with grocery sales climbing by 12.2% across its bricks-and-mortar stores.
Aldi achieved a market share of 10.3% following a 4.9% rise in sales, and Lidl saw its portion of the market rise by 0.3% to 7.3% compared with February 2024, with sales up by 8.1%.
Convenience retailer Co-op remained in growth, giving it a market share of 5.1%. Waitrose’s sales increased by 3.2%, helped by almost 200,000 additional shoppers. Spending at frozen food specialist Iceland was 0.7% higher, maintaining a share of 2.3% – the same as this time last year.
Sally Ball, head of retail at Kantar, commented: “Back in 2020, we didn’t know just how big an impact the Covid-19 pandemic would have on our lives, but five years on we can get a picture of its lingering effects on consumers.
“We haven’t gone back to old patterns and shopping trips remain below pre-pandemic times. Households made one less visit to the supermarket in February 2025 than in 2020, while online shopping appears to have stuck, taking a 12.3% market share this month versus 8.6% in February 2020.
“One of the most interesting changes has been a move to simpler eating habits as we look for convenient shortcuts to make our lives easier. People are taking less time to prepare meals, and prep time in the evening, for example, has declined from almost 34 minutes in 2020 to 31 minutes in 2024.”
