The supermarket channel is estimated to grow by 2.1% in 2025 in value terms. However, adjusted for inflation, volume sales fell and the channel continued to lose share of the wider market.
"Value-for-money remains top of the consumer agenda, but moving forward large-format stores have to lead more on the healthy eating revolution"
Michael Oliver, Senior Retail Analyst
| Report Attributes | Details |
|---|---|
| Published Date | November 2025 |
| Report Author | Michael Oliver, Senior Retail Analyst |
| Market Size Data | 2019-2025(est) |
| Market Forecast Data | 2026-2030 |
| Measurement Metrics | Retail Sales (inc VAT) in £ |
| Consumer Data | 2,000 internet users aged 16+, August 2025 |
| Leading UK Retailers | Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, M&S, Co-op, Waitrose, Iceland |
The main focus of this Report is the supermarkets of the market leaders – those stores in which people have historically done their main shop.
The term ‘supermarket’ takes in a very broad selection of store sizes. Tesco, for example, has stores ranging from 10,000 sq ft, small high-street supermarkets to over 100,000 sq ft hypermarkets, with an average supermarket size of around 39,000 sq ft. Broadly speaking, the unifier between these stores is the ability to serve, first and foremost, a shopper’s main shop, or primary grocery needs. As size increases, the range of non-foods and other services accommodated also increases, with the trade-off being that the largest stores are usually located outside of urban areas and often need a dedicated trip to visit.
While touched upon in this report, discounters are excluded from our definition of supermarkets as, while often similar in size to the supermarkets of the leading players, in reality they fall between the supermarket and convenience sectors.
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