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Tesco, Asda and Morrisons lose market share to discounters in run-up to Christmas, but Sainsbury’s thrives

Sainsbury’s sales beat Asda for the first time in a decade at Christmas after a surge in December sales.
Industry data from Kantar, which has been seen by The Telegraph, shows that Sainsbury’s sales accelerated dramatically in the four weeks to January 5.
Sainsbury’s year-on-year sales growth quickened from 1.8pc in the 12 weeks to December 8 to 6.7pc in the following four weeks as shoppers shifted their spending to the supermarket for Christmas.
The sharp increase in sales gave Sainsbury’s a market share of 17.7pc for the four weeks to January 5, compared to 17.5pc for Asda. This is the first time since 2003 that Sainsbury’s, which is led by chief executive Justin King, has beaten its rival at Christmas and reclaimed position as the number two grocery retailer behind Tesco.
Sainsbury’s growth was faster than Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, but also Waitrose.