Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has revealed that it enjoyed the strongest festive season in its history last month, despite fears over lingering weakness in consumer confidence.
The company, Britain’s third-largest grocer, saw a 2.1 per cent increase in like-for-like sales excluding fuel in the 14 weeks to January 7. Transactions in the week leading up to Christmas were up by 1.5 million year-on-year, setting a new record of 26 million.
“This was a strong quarter, rounded off by our best Christmas ever, despite the economic backdrop,” said chief executive Justin King. “Consistent with trends over the past year, we expect customers to spend cautiously in 2012, particularly in the first few months as they tighten their belts post-Christmas.”
Sainsbury’s said its strong showing had been driven in part by increased spending on food, with customers buying £2m worth of its Taste the Difference turkeys. The retailer also indicated it would extend its successful price-matching scheme well into 2012.
The announcement came after Marks & Spencer suggested it too would look to cut prices in the new year, in response to a slight decline in like-for-like sales over Christmas.
