Sainsbury’s has won grocery market share for the sixth consecutive Christmas period, as grocery sales growth helped underpin a stronger third-quarter performance despite a dip in Argos sales.
Total retail sales excluding fuel rose 3.9% year-on-year in the 16 weeks to 3 January 2026, with like-for-like sales up 3.4%. Over the six-week Christmas period, total retail sales increased 3.3%.
Grocery sales rose 5.4% in the quarter and 5.1% over Christmas, driven by higher volumes and market share gains. Sales in general merchandise and clothing fell 1.1% over the quarter however, while Argos sales declined 1.0%.
Fresh food sales rose 8% during the quarter, with sales from the Taste the Difference range up 15%. The retailer said it sold 20% more turkeys than last year during the peak Christmas week, as more customers chose Sainsbury’s for their main festive shop.
Online grocery sales increased 14% over the quarter, supported by growth in on-demand orders, higher basket sizes and improved availability. Convenience stores delivered a record performance, with particularly strong trading on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve.
In clothing, Sainsbury’s said its Tu range outperformed the wider market, despite softer consumer demand and milder weather. General merchandise demand remained weak, reflecting lower spending on higher-ticket items and heavy promotional activity across the sector.
While Argos sales fell by 1% in the quarter and 2.2% in the six weeks to 3 January, the retailer said volumes grew and market share increased in homewares, electricals and toys. Habitat sales rose 6%, while sales from the relaunched Chad Valley range increased 7%.
Looking ahead, Sainsbury’s said it remains on track to deliver £1bn of cost savings by March 2027, helping to offset operating cost inflation. The group added that investments in technology and supply chain operations had supported improved availability and efficiency during the Christmas trading period.
The group also said it continued to expect retail underlying operating profit of more than £1bn for the year, despite weaker conditions in non-food categories.
Simon Roberts, CEO of J Sainsbury, said: “We have won grocery market share for the sixth consecutive Christmas period, again delivering our winning combination of value, quality, service and availability for customers. When we strengthened our profit guidance in November, we said we planned to invest in the strength of our competitive position through the most important trading period of the year.
“We expected the market to become more competitive with customers spending more carefully and we invested in balanced choices to offer great value for money, outstanding quality and innovation and leading customer service and availability, both in store and online.”
He added: “More customers switched to Sainsbury’s, trusting us for both great value essentials and premium Taste the Difference products in their big Christmas shop and we were the only major grocer to grow items in the basket. We gave customers great value on a bigger range of products this year and more customers benefited from personalised Your Nectar Prices, available to every supermarket shopper for the first time.”
