M&S and Ocado win back middle class shoppers to become UK’s fastest-growing supermarkets

Ocado and Marks & Spencer have been named the country’s fastest-growing supermarkets as they win back middle-class shoppers.

According to industry group Nielsen, sales at Ocado were 13 percent higher in the 12 weeks to March 23 than a year earlier, while M&S rose 11.2 percent.

It’s the latest sign that affluent shoppers are returning after opting for cheaper stores amid cost-of-living pressures. And it provides further evidence that the partnership between M&S and Ocado is paying off.

The Ocado Retail 50-50 joint venture will allow Ocado customers to buy M&S groceries online.

After struggling in recent years, Ocado Retail boss Hannah Gibson said the business “took off” after Christmas.

Lidl also performed well, with sales up 9.4 percent, while Sainsbury’s posted a gain of 7.9 percent and Tesco rose 6.3 percent.

Morrisons and Waitrose are growing faster than Aldi – by 4.7 per cent, 4.1 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively – but Asda has stalled with sales up just 0.8 per cent.

The figures raise new concerns about Asda since its takeover by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital.

With Ocado and M&S on the rise, Waitrose yesterday cut prices for the second time in two months, cutting more than 200 products by around 7 per cent.

Yet industry experts believe M&S, which has 3.4 percent of the market, could surpass Waitrose (3.6 percent) this year.

Nielsen said there was ‘fierce competition’ between supermarkets with a price war around Mother’s Day and Easter.

Total grocery sales in the four weeks to March 23 were 5.4 percent higher than a year earlier.

Food prices are 3.7 percent higher.

Nielsen’s Mike Watkins said: ‘Encouraging more visits is likely to be the next battleground for retailers.’