September’s sunshine graced supermarkets with an unexpected boost, according to analysts, as warmer weather prompted growth in sales.
Till sales jumped by 10.3% in the month to 9 September, outdoing the rain-hit 7.2% penned between July and early August, insight from NIQ showed.
Volume sales grew too, meanwhile, with a 2.1% jump marking the first improvement since early May.
“The warm weather has led consumers to shop more in-store,” NIQ retail insight head Mike Watkins explained.
Alongside this, consumers have shifted to more physical shopping habits as higher prices have left people actively searching for the best deals, he said.
Discounters Aldi and Lidl grew their market share during the 12 weeks leading up to 9 September, NIQ reported, alongside Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) and Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS), which penned sales growth of 11.6%.
Sales growth of nearly 20% and 16.6% respectively at the two German firms has left the pair with a combined 20.4% market share.
Shore Capital analysts noted that these gains would likely continue, though any return to more normal demand as inflation slows next year could weigh in.
According to NIQ, shopper sentiment is already starting to improve as inflation eases month on month.
“The good news is that volumes are starting to improve against the declines of last year,” Watkins added. “There are some improvements showing [...] and there is now a growth in real incomes”.