Morrisons’ strong promotional stance has enabled it to increase sales faster than its rivals, according to Nomura analyst Nick Coulter.

He said campaigns such as Biggest Ever Price Crunch and Fuel Britannia have “resonated with austerity Britain” and that a lower non-food mix has helped the retailer’s relative performance.

Coulter expects Morrisons to notch up a 2% like-for-like sales rise in the first half – higher than the 1.7% Nomura was forecasting earlier this month.

Nomura expects Morrisons’  EBITDA to rise by 8% in the first half, as it benefits from a “robust top line performance”.

Morrisons will post first-half results on September 8. The most recent data from grocery market monitor Kantar shows in the

12 weeks ending August 7, the grocer increased its market share from 11.6% to 11.7%.