Grocery sales up by 2.4 per cent year on year, with 10-day heatwave driving demand for barbecue staples, including salads
The UK’s take-home grocery sales increased by 2.4 per cent in the four weeks to 14 June, according to Worldpanel by Numerator, with the hottest May day on record and a 10-day heatwave driving strong demand for summer staples.
Sales of fresh prepared salads and chilled dips grew by 13 per cent each, while fresh beef burger sales rose by 40 per cent, as households wheeled out their barbecues.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator, said: “There’s something very British about the way a heatwave changes the weekly shop, and shoppers didn’t need much encouragement to fire up the grill and turn to al fresco dining this time around.
“Barbecue staples performing well and shoppers turning to healthier options are a common summer trend, and we can expect to see this continue over the rest of June and into July, with the warm weather forecast to continue.”
Worldpanel data shows that spending per person on food nearly doubles when households are barbecuing. Spend per head stands at close to £5 for barbecue meals, compared to just over £2.50 for meals prepared inside.
Meanwhile, like-for-like grocery inflation stood decreased slightly to three per cent, offsetting concerns about the impact of the conflict in the Middle East filtering through to Britain’s supermarket shelves.
World Cup sparks promotions
In addition, the FIFA Men’s World Cup has sparked the highest promotional activity in June for five years. Beer, cider, snacks, crisps and chilled pizza have all been hotspots for deals.
Worldpanel noted that promotions are playing a key role across the wider market. The share of grocery spending on promotion rose year on year for the 39th consecutive month, with 30.4 per cent of all sales now on some form of deal.
Online grocery continues to grow ahead of the total market. Combined online sales across all grocers rose by 9.1 per cent during the four-week period, with nearly a quarter of British households making at least one online grocery purchase.
“Nearly a third of all grocery spending is now on promotion, and that upward streak shows no sign of breaking,” McKevitt said. “Combined with strong online growth, it points to shoppers who know what they want and are increasingly confident about where and how to find the best deal. In short, retailers are having to compete hard for that summer shop.”
Co-op returns to growth
When it comes to retailer performance, Ocado was once again the fastest-growing grocer, with sales up by 13.5 per cent over the 12 weeks to 14 June 2026, compared with the same time a year ago. As a result, Ocado share rose by 0.2 percentage points to 2.2 per cent of the market.
Lidl attracted more than half a million more shoppers over the 12-weeks compared to the same period in 2025. The discounter’s market share rose to 8.7 per cent, up by 0.5 per cent, which was the greatest increase for any retailer.
Convenience retailer Co-op also returned to market share growth, increasing share from 5.2 per cent in 2025 to 5.3 per cent in 2026 as sales grew by 2.7 per cent. A cyberattack affected its figures for 2025.
Sainsbury’s also grew ahead of the market during the 12 weeks, with spending up by two per cent, which added 0.1 per cent of share. Britain’s second-largest grocer now accounts for 15.3 per cent of total sales.
Tesco, meanwhile, holds 28 per cent market share, with sales growing by 1.2 per cent.
