Tesco’s growth accelerates in Q1, non-foods outpace grocery sales

Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket, said UK underlying sales growth picked up in Q1 and it won market share from rivals with clothing sales rising.

The group’s share of Britain’s grocery market has grown this year to 28% for the first time since 2016 and it said its UK like-for-like sales rose 5.1% in the 13 weeks to May 24.

Importantly, while food sales were up 5.9%, with a strong contribution from fresh food, non-food sales (excluding toys) were up an even better 6.2%, “with strong growth in home and clothing, benefiting from new and extended ranges as well as warmer weather”.

And growth was seen across all channels, led by Online, where sales were up 11.5% and market share up +163bps as it increased capacity and saw improving customer satisfaction. Connected to that (and likely to drive online sales higher in the current quarter) was the online launch of F&F in May.

F&F hadn’t been available online for quiet a few years but its return has come with a high-profile ad campaign that’s boosting its awareness as the supermarket fashion sector generally continues to go from strength to strength. 

Tesco stills expect to report adjusted operating profit of between £2.7 billion and £3 billion in the year to February 2026, lower than the £3.13 billion achieved in 2024/25. This comes after it set aside cash to deal with sharper competition in the UK grocery market as Asda has launched price cuts and other rivals respond.