Asda continues to lose market share as sales fall year on year, according to the latest industry data, putting its place as the UK's third-largest supermarket chain in danger of being grabbed by discounter Aldi.
Asda, which is mostly owned by private equity group TDR, saw sales tumble 4.0% in the 12 weeks to 9 June, according to till receipt data from Kantar.
Its market share fell to 12.8% in the period, down from 13.7% a year ago with its owners apparently prioritising paying off debt rather than growth.
The gap to German-owned Aldi, which overtook Morrisons to become the UK's fourth-largest grocery chain in 2022, is shrinking.
Aldi grew sales by 0.8% and its market share stands at 10.0%, according to Kantar's calculations, though its growth was slower than many of the other large chains.
Fellow limited-assortment discounter (LAD) Lidl, for instance, grew 8.1% and with its market share also at 8.1% meaning it is not far off overtaking Morrisons and grabbing fifth spot, with the Bradford-based grocer's share standing at 8.7% as sales grew 1.1%.
Ocado Retail, the joint venture between Ocado Group PLC and Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS), saw the strongest growth, with sales up 10.7% in the 12 weeks to June 9.
Kantar said 23% of UK households did their grocery shopping online in what was a rainy three-month period, with over 4% choosing to use Ocado, meaning the online-only retailer accounted for 1.8% of the market.
Market leader Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) grew sales by 4.6%, bested by second-largest group J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY), up 4.9%.
Sainsbury's market share remains well behind at 15.2% versus 27.7% as Tesco achieved its highest market share since February 2022, growing 0.6 percentage points year on year.