Grocery price inflation eased to 2.1% in the four weeks to 9 August 2026, its lowest level since October 2024, according to Worldpanel by Numerator.
Take-home sales growth slowed to 2.5% during the period, while shoppers spent an average of £410 on groceries, down £14.24 compared with the previous four weeks.
Promotions accounted for 31.3% of grocery sales, the highest level recorded so far this year. Premium own-label sales returned to double-digit growth at 11.1%, while value own-label products featured in 96 million shopping trips.
Hot weather continued to influence purchasing habits, with sales of dips up 23.3%, coleslaw up 23.1% and potato salad up 22%. Chilled finger foods grew 15.2%, chilled quiche 15.8% and chilled olives 13.3%. Sun cream sales increased by 58.4%, with shoppers aged under 45 driving the biggest uplift.
The freezer aisle also performed strongly, with shoppers making an additional 6.2 million trips compared with the same period last year. Ice cream and sorbet sales rose 26.1%, while frozen fruit sales increased 48.1%. Soft drinks spending grew 15.1%.
Online remained the fastest-growing channel, with shopper visits increasing by 8.3%, although average basket spend fell by £1.13 year on year to £86.28.
Among retailers, Ocado remained the fastest-growing grocer, with sales up 13.1% and market share increasing to 2.1%. Lidl gained the most market share, rising 0.5 percentage points to 8.8%, while attracting an additional 736,000 shoppers.
Asda’s sales declined by 0.2%, giving it an 11.5% market share. Sainsbury’s sales increased 3.5% and Morrisons sales rose 3.3%, taking their market shares to 15.2% and 8.5% respectively.
Co-op’s take-home grocery sales grew 5.1%, lifting its market share to 5.5%, its highest level since September 2025. Tesco retained a 27.8% market share, with sales growth of 1.8%.
Aldi’s sales increased 1.1% and its market share reached 10.7%, while Waitrose and Iceland maintained market shares of 4.5% and 2.3% respectively. Sales grew 2.8% at Waitrose and 2.4% at Iceland.
Outside the traditional grocery market, grocery-only sales at M&S increased by 15.9%.
