British grocery sales growth slowed last month as consumers curbed spending in anticipation of upcoming Christmas and Black Friday events, industry data showed on Wednesday.

Market analyst NIQ said UK supermarket sales rose 4.0% in the four weeks to November 2 in the year, up from 4.7% in the previous month. "Shoppers so far have been cautious and it’s evident that they are saving on grocery essentials to be able to afford treats and indulgences," Mike Watkins, NIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight, said. He added the UK had a "polarized consumer", with 50% of households continuing to put pressure on personal finances. NIQ said total merchandise sales fell 1.4% in value terms, with volumes down 5.5%.

Repeating figures from rival market researcher Kantar this week, NIQ said the fastest growing UK grocers were online players Ocado and discounters Lidl, whose sales rose 16.1% and 11.9% respectively in the 12 weeks to November 2nd. 

The analysts said Marks & Spencer was third with an increase of 11.4%, while market leader Tesco, by more than 4.7%, and Sainsbury’s came in second, with a 4.6% increase in market share.  Asda continued to be an industry laggard, with sales down 3.5% for the year and a 1 per cent loss of market share for the year. Last week, Asda chairman Stuart Rose said the grocer had "lost the ground" but the business could be repaired. Both Tesco and Sainsbury are forecasting strong Christmas trading. Photo by  Ian Petticrew, Wikimedia commons.