Morrisons sales soar

Morrisons is enjoying the fastest growth rate in sales among the UK’s multiples and is outpacing the discounters, according to new figures from TNS Worldpanel.

The UK’s fourth-largest grocer saw its sales rise by 9.3% in the 12 weeks to 14 June, taking its market share to 11.6%.

Meanwhile, budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl saw their sales climb by 8.7% and 7.5% respectively. Sainsbury’s, the UK’s number three grocer, joined Morrisons in beating Aldi and Lidl – and saw its sales increase faster than rival Asda, according to TNS.

Sainsbury’s sales rose by 8.9%, compared to Asda’s 8.2%. The retailers’ respective market shares stand at 16.1% and 16.8%. Tesco, meanwhile, posted its highest growth so far this year at 6.2 per cent.

TNS said there were also signs that shoppers are reverting to pre-recession behaviour, with previously strong growth at hard discounters like Aldi and Lidl continuing to moderate and the upmarket Waitrose chain benefiting from the launch of its essentials grocery range.