Asda has suffered its sharpest rate of sales decline since January, in the latest worrying sign for the supermarket’s price-cutting turnaround strategy.
Asda’s sales were down 3.6% year on year in the 12 weeks to 14 June, according to new data from Worldpanel by Numerator, leaving it with 11.5% of the market, down from 12.1%.
The figures come days after accounts at Companies House showed Asda’s pre-tax losses grew to £989m in the year to December 2025, up from £599m the previous year, as it cut prices to win back shoppers.
It was the only major supermarket to suffer a sales decline in Worldpanel’s latest data, while Aldi put in the weakest growth.
The discounter’s sales were up by just 0.4% year on year, despite its store estate growing by around 3.8% as it opened about 40 stores. Aldi’s market share now stands at 10.7%, down from 10.9% a year ago.
Its growth rate is in contrast to that of its closest direct competitor Lidl, whose sales were up by 8.6% year on year, taking its market share to 8.7%, up from 8.2%. Lidl last month surged past Morrisons to become the UK’s fifth-biggest supermarket.
It is also Lidl’s 36th consecutive month as the fastest-growing bricks & mortar supermarket based on Worldpanel’s analysis.
M&S’s sales grew even faster, by 11.7% year on year, but the retailer is not counted among grocers in Worldpanel’s analysis because of its clothing & home sales.
Co-op has returned to market share growth, with its sales up by 2.7%. Its share grew from 5.2% to 5.3%. Both Co-op and M&S were struck by major cyberattacks that slowed their growth last year.
Ocado was once again the fastest-growing grocer outright, with its sales up by 13.5% year on year, taking its market share from 2% to 2.2%.
Like-for-like grocery inflation was 3.0% in the four weeks to 14 June, a rate Worldpanel said should ease concern about the impact of the conflict in the Middle East filtering through to UK supermarket shelves.
Take-home sales across all the grocers increased by 2.4% in the four weeks, while the share of grocery spending on promotion rose year on year for the 39th month in a row, to 30.4%.
The period coincided with the UK’s hottest May day on record and a 10-day heatwave, driving strong demand for summer staples, according to Worldpanel. Suncare sales were up by 128%, while fresh beef burgers sales rose by 40% as households had barbecues.
Low & no-alcohol drinks also performed strongly, up by 23%, outpacing the wider beer and cider category’s 6% growth.
“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,” said Fraser McKevitt, Worldpanel head of retail and consumer insight.
Worldpanel data shows spending per person on a meal nearly doubles to £5 when households are barbecuing.
Beer and cider, snacks and crisps and chilled pizza are seeing intense promotional activity in June as retailers seek to make the most of shoppers stocking up for World Cup matches.
“Nearly a third of all grocery spending is now on promotion, and that upward streak shows no sign of breaking,” McKevitt added.
“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.”
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