Asda sales have continued to fall in recent weeks, as the supermarket looks to cut debt.
Spending at the Leeds-based grocery chain slumped 2% in the three months to mid-May, fresh industry data from Kantar showed today.
It was the worst performer in the supermarket sector in the period, losing ground on larger rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Asda remained the UK's third-largest grocer, though its market share fell to 13.1% from 13.9% a year ago, meaning the gap between it and fourth-placed Aldi shrank, with the German discounter's 2.2% growth taking it to 10% market share.
Asda is prioritising the reduction of its debt pile over the growth of its sales and market share, analysts at Shore Capital have suggested.
Sales have been “relatively poor”, the analysts said, as the private-equity-owned group trying to grow its profit margins and cash flow, an approach that "brings risk".
Fellow discounter Lidl also continues to grow strongly at 9.4%, which took it a new record-high market share of 8.1%.