Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) was the big winner in the latest round of supermarket industry data, with Asda the only 'big six' chain to see sales shrink in recent weeks.
The monthly report from Worldpanel, formerly known as Kantar, grocery price inflation softened slightly to 4.9% from 5.0% last month, the second month in a row that prices have retreated after growing for a while.
Take-home sales for big grocery groups grew 4.8% over the four weeks to 7 September compared to a year earlier.
Tesco's market share in the 12 weeks to 7 September was 28.4%, up 0.8 percentage points compared to a year ago.
Spending was up 7.7% - its highest rate since December 2023, though Ocado Retail -- joint owned by Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) and Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) -- was once again the fastest growing retailer, with sales rising by 11.9%.
Till takings at J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) increased 5.4%, lifting its slice of the market up to 15.1% from 15% a year ago, while fellow FTSE 100-listed chain M&S saw grocery sales 5.9% higher than a year ago.
Lidl was the fastest growing bricks and mortar retailer with sales up 11.0%, while fellow discounter Aldi held its share with a spending uplift of 4.7%.
Asda sales fell 2.7%.
On inflation, Fraser McKevitt, Worldpanel's head of retail and consumer insight, said: "Prices might not be climbing quite as quickly, but they’re still on the rise and the battle between own label lines and brands continues as household finances remain tight."
He said supermarket own-brands made up 51.2% of all sales, up from 50.9% a year ago as sales grew by 5.9% this period, just ahead of brands at 5.3%.
"It's the premium own label goods which are the real standout performers. Sales rose by an impressive 10.3% making it six months in a row that they’ve increased by double digits.
"Branded goods are holding ground in some categories, including toothbrushes, frozen chicken and baby toiletries, showing that consumers still value well-known names across some very different parts of the store.”