Proactive Investors - Asda lagged behind rival supermarkets as sales surged between July and August on the back of warm weather and the summer holiday period.
According to industry data from NIQ, sales across UK supermarkets climbed 5.5% over the four weeks to August 10, against 3.6% a month earlier.
This was fuelled by a jump in ice cream, water and soft drink sales, as store visits climbed 2.7% and online orders increased 10.5%.
However, data for the 12 weeks to August 10 showed Asda was continuing to struggle against rivals after chairman Stuart Rose highlighted embarrassment over a reported drop in second-quarter sales earlier this month.
NIQ said the UK’s third largest supermarket faced a 6.4% drop in sales over the latest 12 weeks and lost 1.3 percentage points of market share, leaving the figure at 11.8%.
This follows a similar reading seen in Kantar data released last week.
Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO), J Sainsbury PLC (LON:SBRY), Waitrose, Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LON:MKS), Ocado (LON:OCDO) and Lidl all grew their market share in the meantime.
Ocado and M&S were the fastest growing, according to NIQ, as sales climbed by 14.3% and 10.7% respectively compared to a year earlier, while discounter Lidl racked up a 9.6% increase.
“Retailers will be pleased to have maintained shopper spend beyond Euro 2024, with the warm summer weather adding a boost,” NIQ insight head Mike Watkins commented.
However, he warned supermarkets would face pressure to retain growth over the coming weeks as the summer draws to a close, adding price competition would likely heat up.