JSAIY J Sainsbury Plc (QX)

By Ian Walker

LONDON--U.K. grocers had their best holiday season in four years, with total sales in the four weeks ended Dec. 31, 2016 up 3.3%, according to a survey by Nielsen Homescan.

Nielsen Homescan, which measures buying habits through its 15,000 geo-demographically balanced panel, attributed the growth to shoppers leaving it until later to buy their Christmas goods, with sales in the week ending on Christmas Eve up 22% compared with the same week in 2015. Spending in that final two weeks alone was 5.9 billion pounds ($7.17 billion), Nielsen says.

"Shoppers left it particularly late this year, not only because there was an extra day to do the big Christmas shop but the mild weather meant there was no need to visit the shops to stock up in advance, which benefited larger stores in particular," Mike Watkins, Nielsen's U.K. head of retailer and business insight said.

Aldi was the clear winner over the 12 weeks ended Dec. 31 with sales up 10.4%, while the U.K.'s largest grocer by market share Tesco PLC's (TSCO.LN) sales grew 1.9%. Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) sales rose 0.5% in the period, while J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) sales fell 0.2%, according to Nielsen.

Morrison Tuesday reported its best Christmas performance in seven years, with like-for-like sales excluding fuel in the nine weeks ended Jan. 1 up 2.9%. It cited an improving the offer, becoming more competitive, and serving customers better for the result.

J. Sainsbury is due to report its trading update Wednesday, while Tesco is due to report on Thursday.

-Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com; @IanWalk40289749

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 10, 2017 03:14 ET (08:14 GMT)

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