J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) third quarter trading update should give us a clearer idea of how the grocers faired this Christmas, coming a day ahead of larger rival Tesco.
The grocer is the first of the big four to report after what appeared to be a solid Christmas, according to recent industry data.
Christmas spending reached £12.8bn in the four weeks to 25 December, research from Kantar found the first time it surpassed £12bn over any given four-week period.
The key metric to keep an eye out for next week then is margins, given much of the increased spending can be attributed to an increase in prices.
Thus far, however, Sainsbury's has taken the approach of keeping its prices as low as possible, with analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown believing the grocer is the only one of the big four to grow its volume share.
However, while this approach is the right move from a competitive angle, it is hitting profits, which were down 8% in the first half.