Tesco maintains guidance and grows market share as Q1 sales rise

Tesco has revealed that its market share has risen to 27.6% in the 13 weeks ended 25 May 2024, as the group welcomed strong volume growth and rising sales over the period.

It comes as the supermarket’s sales in the UK and Ireland rose by 3.6% to £14.3bn over the period. UK sales rose by 4.6% to £11.4bn, while its Irish sales rose by 4.4% to £731m.

Its food sales were up 5.0%, including strong volume growth seen across the quarter, particularly in fresh food.

Furthermore, its online sales were up 8.9%, driven by volume growth and strong contribution from Whoosh.

As a result of this, the company has reiterated its guidance for the full year of a retail adjusted operating profit of at least £2.8bn.

Ken Murphy, chief executive, said: “We’ve continued to build momentum in the business, with strong volume growth across the UK, Republic of Ireland and Central Europe supported by easing inflation. We continue to be the cheapest full-line grocer and are the most competitive we’ve ever been, with our value, product quality and service driving better brand perception and customer satisfaction.

“Our market share reflects this, growing more than at any other time in the past two years, with customers switching to us from other retailers, shopping with us more often and with more in their baskets.”

He added: “We are looking forward to helping our customers celebrate a great summer of sport. We recently launched more than 100 new and exciting own brand products, including our Finest Dine In summer menu, based on classic pub dishes, and improved our Picnic and Deli, BBQ and Sweet Treat ranges. Tesco Finest growth was particularly strong in the quarter as customer perception of the quality of our products continues to improve.

“Following another strong quarter, we’re pleased to reiterate our guidance for the full year, with sales trends in line with our expectations and the business well-positioned for the months ahead.”