Both Tesco and Sainsburys have reported strong online performance this Christmas.
Sainsbury’s said its online offer played its part as the retailer notched up a record-breaking Christmas.
The company said it had “record orders for groceries online,” while non-food online orders also showed growth. Its Click and Collect service had proved popular with customers and was now available in more than 150 stores.
The update came as Sainsbury’s reported its best-ever Christmas, with a 3.6% rise in like-for-like sales in its third quarter, the 14 weeks to January 8, and a 0.3% growth in market share to 16.6%.
Meanwhile, Tesco said UK online sales were strong both for food and non-food sales, growing by double digits. At Tesco Direct growth came in the order of 18%, thanks to sales of toys, gaming and small domestic appliances.
Overall group sales rose by 7.6%, while in the UK like-for-like sales rose by 0.6%.
Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy said: “The group has continued to make good progress, helped by strong growth across our international businesses, which delivered over half of the group’s growth. Our performance remains solid but was hindered in the run up to the important Christmas trading period in the UK by the disruptive effects of the severe winter weather conditions.”
