Retailer reports ‘strong’ Christmas trading although saw sales fall by 1.5% during the third quarter
Tesco saw like-for-like sales rise by 1.3% during the key six-week Christmas trading period thanks to low prices and a strong “seasonal offering”.
In contrast, like-for-like sales fell by 1.5% during the retailer’s Q3 (13 weeks to 28 November), which the retailer said was down to not repeating ‘£5 off £40’ national coupon campaigns from the previous year.
Chief executive Dave Lewis said more staff on shop floors boosted sales over Christmas, which also saw volumes rise by 3.5% and transactions increase by 3.4%. He hailed the Christmas results as a “significant improvement” on recent years.
“Our Christmas performance was strong, benefiting from lower prices on an outstanding range of products,” Lewis said. “Our customer service improved materially and our colleagues went the extra mile.
“Through our ongoing investment in lower, more stable prices, we were around five per cent cheaper than last year on the lines that mattered most to our customers at Christmas.”
Lewis said strong Christmas performance was evident across all formats and categories, including positive like-for-like sales growth in Tesco Extra.
International sales have continued to grow, he continued, including positive sales momentum in Europe and Asia, and the Thai business reaching its highest-ever market share.
“There is plenty more to do, but we are making good progress and are trading in line with profit expectations for the full year,” he added.