Tesco hailed a ‘record’ Christmas thanks to an ‘unprecedented’ boom in online sales, but warned Covid-19 related costs would jump by more than £800million this year.
Britain’s biggest supermarket said demand for its ‘Finest’ range helped UK like-for-like sales rise 8.1 per cent during the six weeks to 9 January as customers treated themselves during the festive season.
Sales for the wider 19 week period rose by 7.2 per cent. However, it now expects the pandemic to cost it an extra £85million, taking the total estimate to £810million for the full-year.
‘Record’ Christmas: Tesco said it delivered seven million Christmas orders, with online sales growing by more than 80 per cent over the 19 weeks
Tesco shares dipped 1 per cent to 239p in early trade on Thursday.
The supermarket said it delivered seven million Christmas orders, as ‘unprecedented’ demand for online groceries helped online sales growing by more than 80 per cent over the 19 weeks.
Sales of its deluxe range ‘Finest’ soared 14 per cent, with vegan options also flying off the shelves as sales of plant-based products rose more than 90 per cent in the run-up to Christmas.
In a stock market update, Tesco said its large stores have seen sales grow strongly as customers favour bigger but less frequent shopping trips.
But its wholesale arm, Booker, has been hit by lockdowns, with sales falling 8.3 per cent in the period.
In the update to the stock market, the supermarket also said its ‘comprehensive preparations and our strong relationships with suppliers’ have allowed it to maintain strong levels of availability during the Brexit transition period.
Chief executive Ken Murphy said: ‘Our focus on looking after our customers, including delivering record availability, robust safety measures and great value, has enabled us to maintain strong momentum through the Christmas period, outperforming the market every week.
‘We delivered a record Christmas across all of our formats and channels.’
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