Royal wedding gives UK supermarket sales a lift

UK grocers were boosted by the royal wedding, the FA Cup Final and the warm weather in the 12 weeks to May 20, a new report from Kantar revealed on Wednesday.

Asda and Morrisons take third and fourth place with Sainsbury's coming in last on the back of the slowest sales growth and continued market share loss. Nevertheless, it was Tesco that took the top spot after growing sales 2.2% to £7.5bn.

German retailers Aldi and Lidl also grew in terms of their market share and sales. For the 12 weeks, Aldi’s market share rose to 7.3% and sales to 6.7%, while Lidl’s market share improved to 5.4% and sales to 10%.

The products in greatest demand were BBQ-related foods and sun cream, Kantar reported.

"The sun shone on the grocery market over the past month with record-breaking temperatures, a bank holiday weekend and Royal Wedding fever all contributing to a bumper period," Kantar's consumer specialist Chris Hayward said on Wednesday.

"The Friday before the day of the wedding and the FA Cup Final experienced a particularly noticeable spike in sales, with grocers clocking in £415m over the 24 hours."