Grocery sales rise year-on-year

Coming after TNS Worldpanel revealed that discount retailers are still performing well as consumers react well to cheaper pricing, the company said that inflation price inflation was responsible for a good proportion of growth in the grocery sector.

Moreover, it found, the start of September was a strong time for companies in the industry, as they were helped by seasonal promotions such as those offering school-related products.

Senior retailer services manager at the company Mike Watkins remarked that shoppers could increasingly turn to the internet as they attempt to save money in difficult times.

He also said that the usual suspects in the grocery sector are still performing well and recent campaigns could see this trend continue.

"Asda and Morrisons continue to outperform the market and Tesco look likely to benefit from their recent price and promotions initiatives, building momentum for the next few weeks," he said.

Watkins added that the period before Christmas this year will be a "very interesting" one.