Sainsbury’s has posted a +4.9% rise in sales in its first quarter (Q1) trading statement, with value, quality, product availability and customer service helping to drive growth.

This “winning combination” has delivered Sainsbury’s highest market share almost a decade, rising to its highest point since 2016.

“Our winning combination of great value, outstanding quality, excellent availability and leading customer service has driven further share gains, reaching our highest market share in almost a decade.”

Simon Roberts, CEO, Sainsbury’s

With more customers choosing Sainsbury’s as their “first choice for food”, Roberts said more consumers were choosing the supermarket for their main grocery shop.

Pricing has helped deliver this, with Sainsbury’s saying it has improved price positioning against all key competitors year-on-year. This value drive has been supported by price matching against discounters, including Aldi across 800 products, and via its loyalty members’ pricing scheme, Nectar Prices, delivering offers on 9,000+ products.

“We know how important it is that we provide consistently great value and we have built further on our strong competitive position, improving our prices against key competitors. As a result, our Value for Money customer satisfaction scores are the highest they have ever been,” said Roberts.

Sainsbury’s also pointed to quality contributing to performance, with sales of its premium line, Taste the Difference, up +18% for the 16 weeks to 21 June 2025.

Convenience sales grew +6% in Q1, while online grocery sales also rose by +6% bolstered by “very strong” on-demand sales growth. Meanwhile outside of grocery, Tu Clothing revenues increased by +8%, with womenswear generating a +13% uplift, boosted by strong seasonal performance thanks to warmer weather.

“We have great momentum, growing faster than the market for three consecutive years, and we are well set to deliver another strong performance over the summer.”

Simon Roberts, CEO, Sainsbury’s

Looking ahead, Sainsbury’s will launch its new unified retail media platform, Nectar360 Pollen, in late 2025. Nectar360 Pollen will combine audience insight, media planning and activation, optimisation and measurement all in one single platform.

Designed in-house and powered by customer insight and AI, Sainsbury’s said the platform will be the one of the “most advanced of its kind” in the UK. It is on track to become one of the first two businesses to be certified under IAB Europe’s new Retail Media Certification programme.