Grocers have had to endure an extraordinary amount of upheaval in the last few years as customers reap the rewards of a competitive market.

Shopping habits that have shifted away from superstores, price deflation and the growing popularity of the discounters have all served to eat away at margins and market shares of the big four.

There is one among the bigger supermarkets, though, that has held its own in the last 12 months and that is Sainsbury’s, which we will hear from on Wednesday when it reveals its first-quarter trading update.

As Asda’s sales declines steepen and Tesco and Morrisons continue their turnarounds, Sainsbury’s has looked altogether more polished as its focus on its customer and investment in growth areas such as convenience, online and store refurbishments pays off.

However, since Sainsbury’s year end, March 12, Kantar data has indicated that its performance has slowed. In the 12 weeks to April 24, Sainsbury’s sales fell 0.4% – the first time the retailer has recorded a decline since last July. That decrease deepened further in the 12 weeks to May 22, according to Kantar data this week, which showed sales fell 1.2%.

That has been explained by Sainsbury’s decision to move away from multi-price deals to “straight-forward price cuts”, which should stand in good stead in the long term.

But the creeping sales decline means Sainsbury’s update next week is sure to draw attention from retail observers.

They won’t just be examining headline numbers though. It will also be worth looking out for any comments chief executive Mike Coupe makes about his confidence over the Home Retail deal, which as of a little over a week ago is the subject of a Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) probe.

Also coming this week…

We will get an idea of how trading has been across retail on Tuesday when the BRC publishes its sales numbers for May. In April sales growth was at its lowest since 2012 on a like-for-like basis, driven by declining fashion sales. With Brexit continuing to dominate the media agenda, will fears have fed through to consumer spending and weakened demand further.

To find out more on this week’s updates on Sainsbury’s, Home Retail, Ao.com and Bonmarché, click here.

  • Nicola Harrison is content editor at Retail Week