Grocery giant Tesco reports jump in sales as boss Murphy hails ‘biggest ever Christmas’

Tesco has delivered a jump in sales as boss Ken Murphy said the grocer’s focus on investing in value, quality and service led to it delivering its “biggest ever Christmas” trading period.

In twin trading statements – one covering the 13 weeks to November 23, 2024 and another covering the six weeks to January 4, 2024, Tesco reported a 3.8% increase in group sales over the festive period and a 2.8% jump in revenues in the third quarter. For the total 19 week period covering the two statements, Tesco reported a 3.1% increase in sales. 

Over the Christmas period, UK sales jumped 4.1%, Republic of Ireland sales increased 4.8%, while Booker sales inched up 1.4%.

Central Europe sales were up 4.7% during Christmas and 3.5% over the full 19 weeks.

Non-food sales, including toys, were up 4% during the festive period and the retailer also reported growth in both home and clothing but didn’t break out the sales figures.

Tesco Finest sales jumped 15.5% over the period, while 10 million customers got personalised Clubcard Challenges over the period – a record level of digital investment for the retailer.

The grocery giant also reported strong online growth in the period, with ecommerce sales soaring 10.8%, with 1.2 million Tesco Whoosh orders being placed over Christmas.

During the 19-week period, Tesco said it achieved its highest market share since 2016 and “further cement[ed] our position as cheapest full-line grocer”.

Tesco launched over 350 “new or improved” Christmas products over the festive period, with quality perception boosted by 100 basis points.

In terms of outlook for the year, Tesco said it continued to expect to deliver adjusted operating profits of £2.9bn and retail free cash flow in the medium term of between £1.4bn and £1.8bn.

Chief executive Ken Murphy said: “I am very proud of the entire Tesco team and the way we served customers this Christmas. We invested to bring the best value, quality and service to everyone, no matter how or where they shopped with us. As a result, we delivered our biggest-ever Christmas, with continued market share growth and switching gains.

“Our strong performance reflects the investments we have made, positioning Tesco as the UK’s cheapest full-line grocer for over two years, improving quality across all our ranges, with more than half of this year’s Christmas range new or improved, and providing the best experience for our customers in-store and online, supported by an extra 28,000 colleagues over the Christmas period.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Tesco for their hard work in delivering a great Christmas. As we start 2025, we look forward to continuing to offer our customers the very best products and experience at Tesco.”