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Bloomberg
Coronavirus-driven stockpiling by Britons girding for a nationwide lockdown lifted UK grocery sales to a record in March, according to research firm Kantar.
Supermarket sales grew by 7.6% in the past 12 weeks, the fastest pace in more than a decade. That rate of increase nearly tripled over the past four weeks, making March the biggest month of grocery sales ever recorded.
Among the big four supermarket chains, J Sainsbury Plc was the winner, with sales growth of 7.4% during the past three months. It outpaced rivals Tesco Plc, Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc and Asda Stores Ltd.
The German discounters Aldi and Lidl also benefited, with sales rising by 11% and 18%, respectively, during the past 12 weeks.
Even though Ocado Group Plc, the online grocer, has been dogged by capacity problems on its website it still managed to acquire 133,000 new shoppers during the same period, boosting its sales by 13%.