Lidl sold 60 punnets every minute during Wimbledon tennis tournament, as supermarkets basked in Britain’s sizzling summer of sport.
Sales were up 3.6 per cent in the past three months as the nation stocked up on summer goods to make the most of World Cup and record amounts sunshine, according to Kantar Worldpanel.
Asda won the battle of the big four to come out on top for the first time since December 2014, posting 3.7 per cent sales rise, its strongest in five years.
Co-op also benefitted from the high temperatures as shoppers went local. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel said: “Over the past 12 weeks Co-op experienced growth of 6.4% – its highest recorded since October 2011 – as shoppers’ desire to maximise the sunshine encouraged them to shop more locally. The past month in particular saw a boost to the retailer’s popularity, with shoppers returning to Co-op stores on average a record 10.1 times.”
Conversely, larger Tesco and Sainsbury’s stores were less popular trips meaning the top two retailer’s registered 2.3 per cent, and 0.8 per cent respectively.
Aldi was once again the fastest grower overall, with a 10.9 per cent sales increase, with Lidl, which was the official supermarket for England football team, not far behind at 9.7 per cent growth.
Lidl said booze and barbecues were the main sales drivers, but fresh produce did well too.
The retailer sold 60punnets ofstrawberriesevery minute which equated to 100,000 more punnets in comparison to the two weeks before the tennis championship.
As customers enjoyed their Pimms the discounter also sold 119cucumbersevery minute; 200,000 more than during the two weeks prior to the tournament.
Christian Härtnagel, CEO of Lidl UK said: 'The Wimbledon tennis tournament, England's remarkable run in the World Cup and the never-ending heatwave has led to more customers coming through our doors than ever before. We’re incredibly proud of our colleagues, who have worked extremely hard throughout the last month to ensure that Lidl stores across the country were stocked up with supplies.”
