Take-home sales at the grocers grew by 3.8% in the four weeks to 25 January 2026 compared with a year ago, new UK shopping data by Worldpanel by Numerator shows.
While the data shows broadly positive signs for the entire retail market, one supermarket continues to dominate o the growth front.
Lidl was the fastest-growing brick-and-mortar retailer, with sales up by 10.1% over the 12 weeks to 25 January 2026 compared with the same period last year.
The discount retailer’s market share now stands at 7.7%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points over a year ago, continuing an unbroken run of market share gains stretching back to October 2021.
By comaprison, sales at Ocado increased by 14.1%, driven by growth in both customer numbers and shopping frequency. The online specialist’s market share rose to 2.1%, up from 1.9% in 2025.
Sainsbury’s saw a 5.3% rise in spending through the tills, driving a 0.2 percentage point increase to 16.2%. Tesco matched this share gain, now accounting for 28.7% of the market, with sales rising by 4.4%.
Waitrose’s growth accelerated to 5.5%, supported by the fastest rise in average spend per trip among the grocers. Market share for the John Lewis-owned supermarket held steady at 4.7%. Aldi share also remained unchanged at 10.1% with sales growing just ahead of the market, up by 3.8%.
Sales at Morrisons increased by 2.5%, with the retailer now holding 8.4% of the market, while Iceland saw sales rise by 3.2% higher with market share at 2.3%. Asda holds 11.5% of grocery sales, while convenience specialist Co-op holds a 5.0% share.
Beyond the grocers, sales of grocery items at M&S were 6.9% higher over the 12 weeks than compared with the same time last year.
Own-labels begin to dominate
One possible reason for Lidl’s phenomenal growth is an increasingly budget-focused shopping base.
With many shoppers looking to cut back after record spending on groceries in December, the share of spend on own-label goods typically rises in January. The data shows that this year was no exception, with own label accounting for 52.2% of grocery spending – the highest level ever recorded.
Promotional spending also picked up pace. While not hitting the Christmas highs, it rose by 10.9% year on year, marking the fastest rate of growth since October 2024. By comaprison, full price sales edged upwards by just 1.7% compared with the same four weeks last year.
“For most shoppers, January is all about resetting household budgets, and this year was no exception. While grocery sales continue to grow and inflation eased to its lowest level in months, value remained front of mind for many – with own label hitting a record high, accounting for more than half of all grocery spend,” Worldpanel said.
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