Summer holidays and warm weather lead to boost in supermarket sales

This is the largest growth in total till sales recorded so far this year, which was aided by a sales boost due to a short heatwave when weekly sales growth week ending August 3 hit 6.6 per cent.

As Euro 2024 ended, retailers continued to entice shoppers by offering more price cuts and also maintaining promotional spend at 25 per cent of sales purchased. Waning food price inflation also helped, falling to 2.3 per cent.

Mike Watkins, NIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight, said: “Retailers will be pleased to have maintained shopper spend beyond Euro 2024, with the warm summer weather adding a boost to sales.

"However, with almost one in three household`s top concern still being inflation and shoppers still looking for value, it’s clear that loyalty and membership schemes remain key to encourage spend.”

Over the four week period, NIQ data shows that the online channels also performed well, with sales up 6.8 per cent, outpacing in-store growth at 3.8 per cent. Online share of fast-moving consumer goods spend grew to 12.8 per cent - up from 12.5 per cent this time last year.

Across all supermarkets, visits to stores increased 2.7 per cent and online orders were up 10.5 per cent. NIQ data also shows that sales in the convenience channel also picked up after a poor 2024 so far, with 4.8 per cent growth.

Category purchasing was helped by the return of hot weather. With alfresco dinning, the value sales of produce improved 11.8 per centand with a mini heatwave, soft drinks were the fastest growing supercategory at 14.3 per cent.

Mr Watkins added: “As summer draws to a close, retailers will be under pressure to maintain sales growth in the next six weeks. This is especially true with the lack of seasonal events and the back-to-school period, as shoppers settle into new routines. We can also expect more comparative price advertising by retailers as they reinforce price credentials ahead of the all-important Q4 sales build.”