Christmas sales of Sainsbury’s grew 3.8% for the six weeks to 4 January 2025. Credit: Sainsbury’s/Shutterstock.

British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has registered a 2.7% surge in total retail sales, excluding fuel, for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024/25.  

During the 16 weeks to 4 January 2025, sales of Sainsbury’s business saw a 3.7% sales growth, driven by 4.1% growth in grocery. 

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Argos, a subsidiary of the Sainsbury’s group, encountered a slight setback with a 1.4% decline over the same quarter. 

The retailer’s like-for-like (LFL) sales revealed a 2.8% increase when fuel was excluded, and remained flat when fuel sales were accounted for. 

The festive season proved particularly fruitful for Sainsbury’s, with a 3.8% uptick in sales during the six weeks up to 4 January 2025.  

This growth was fuelled by consistent performance across grocery (3.8%) and general merchandise and clothing (3.4%). 

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J Sainsbury chief executive Simon Roberts stated: “We have won grocery market share for the fifth consecutive Christmas, with more customers choosing Sainsbury’s for their big shop. Driven by our leading combination of quality, value and service, we have achieved seven consecutive quarters of volume performance ahead of the market and further accelerated our two-year volume growth. 

“The strength of our customer service and operational performance stood us apart in delivering our biggest-ever Christmas. Customers shopped later than ever and we achieved our highest ever sales in the final days before Christmas.” 

For the full fiscal year 2024/25, Sainsbury’s anticipates delivering an underlying operating profit for its retail operations that aligns with consensus forecasts and sits comfortably within its guidance range of £1.01bn to £1.06bn — a figure that would represent approximately 7% year-on-year growth. 

This optimistic projection is underpinned by sustained operating leverage derived from grocery volume expansion and augmented profitability from Sainsbury’s loyalty programme, Nectar. 

The retailer also maintains its commitment to generating at least £500m in retail free cash flow. 

In December 2024, Sainsbury’s unveiled its inaugural airport store at Edinburgh Airport, signalling a new chapter in the company’s expansion strategy.