Spar’s £5m multimedia campaign has increased basket spend by 4% since its first TV ad in four years rolled out in October.

Sales of its Spar Italian range more than doubled compared with 2012 and sales of Italian wines were up 40%, the retailer said.

Its relaunched Winter Warmers range also benefitted from the TV adverts, Spar said, with advertised products rising 39%, and the traditional ready meals category seeing an 11% boost. 

“We are delighted with the results from our media campaign so far, and it’s fantastic to see the effort that our regional wholesalers and retailers have all put in to making the campaign a success”, said head of marketing Philippe Rondepierre.

“The campaign led to our best footfall performance in several months. We know we can drive sales even harder as the campaign continues its roll out this year, so we are looking forward to the next review,” he added.

Like-for-like retail sales of Covent Garden chilled soups also contributed to an 87% increase in sales within the chilled soup category, Spar said.  

The TV ad campaign continues until 28 February, with adverts focusing on round pound deals on beer, cider and grocery items.

A Spar poster will also feature on a bus stop on ITV’s Coronation Street until the end of the month.