Chilled burger sales increased in May as warmer weather encouraged consumers to bring out their barbecues, the latest Kantar supermarket data found.
Kantar reported that take-home grocery sales grew by 4.4% for the four-week period ending 18th May 2025, while grocery price inflation rose to its highest level since February 2024 to reach 4.1%.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, comments: “This latest jump in grocery price inflation takes us into new territory for 2025. Households have been adapting their buying habits to manage budgets for some time, but we typically see changes in behaviour once inflation tips beyond the 3% to 4% point as people notice the impact on their wallets more. Own label lines are ones to watch, with premium own label, in particular, being the fastest growing part of the market since September 2023.”
“Trimming prices remains the most popular way for retailers to draw in customers.”
Fraser McKevitt, Kantar
As the weather warmed up, consumers enjoyed barbecues in May. McKevitt commented: “We’ve been firing up the barbecues a bit earlier than last year, with chilled burgers flying off the shelves and sales growing by 27%. Shoppers didn’t forget the all-important sides, as sales of potato salad rocketed by 32% and coleslaw and prepared salads by 19% each. As the mercury rose, sun cream sales also shot up by 36% as Brits made the most of the spring sun.
“The growth of spending on deals has carried on this month, increasing by 5.1% versus May last year. Trimming prices remains the most popular way for retailers to draw in customers, with 80% of promotional spending this period down to straightforward price cuts.”
Online retailer Ocado saw sales rise by 14.9%, as it celebrated one year as Britain’s fastest growing grocer. Discounters Lidl and Aldi saw shares of 8.1% and 11.1% respectively, with their combined growth reaching its strongest level since January 2024 at 8.4%.
Morrisons now holds 8.4% of the market after sales growth of 1.1%, and Asda has a market share of 12.1%. Waitrose grew by 4% to maintain its 4.6% share, while Iceland sales increased by 1.9% to reach a 2.2% market share.
Despite the recent cybersecurity incidents, convenience retailer Co-op increased sales by 0.6% to take 5.3% of the market, and spend on groceries at M&S rose by 12.3%.
