UK supermarkets saw a significant uptick in sales during August, driven by warm weather and pre-holiday shopping, although Asda, the third-largest player,

continued to struggle, according to data released by market researcher NIQ on Wednesday.

Over the four weeks leading up to August 10, supermarket sales in the UK increased by 5.5% compared to the same period last year, an improvement from the 3.6% growth reported in the previous month. This rise, the highest so far this year, was largely attributed to a brief heatwave. During this period, ice cream sales surged by 38%, mineral water sales increased by 32%, and soft drink sales grew by 14.3%.

Additionally, sales of suncare products rose by 49%, and hayfever remedies saw a 42% increase as consumers spent more time outdoors and prepared for summer vacations.

NIQ's findings aligned with data from competitor Kantar, indicating that Ocado, an online grocery retailer, experienced the fastest growth in the 12 weeks leading up to August 10, with a 14.3% increase in sales. Marks & Spencer also performed well, with a 10.7% rise in sales.

Tesco, the market leader, along with Sainsbury's, Lidl, and Waitrose, all gained market share during this period.

In contrast, Asda's sales declined by 6.4%, resulting in a loss of 1.3 percentage points in market share over the year. Earlier this month, Asda reported a 5.3% drop in second-quarter sales, with its chairman, Stuart Rose, expressing his disappointment in an interview with The Telegraph.

NIQ also reported that food price inflation was at 2.3%, higher than Kantar's latest figure of 1.8%. The online grocery channel's share of total grocery spending increased to 12.8% over the four-week period, up from 12.5% in the same period last year. Photo by Keith Evans, Wikimedia commons.