Asda overtakes Sainsbury’s to become second biggest supermarket ahead of merger

Asda has now surpassed Sainsbury’s to become the UK’s second largest supermarket, according to new industry figures.

Asda has continued to build on two years of continuous growth as sales have increased by 0.1% during the 12 weeks to 24 March 2019. The Leeds-headquartered supermarket now has a 15.4% market share, according to the latest report by Kater.

Sainsbury’s, however, has seen a 1.8% drop in sales during this period, resulting in its market share falling to 15.3%. Sainsbury’s still remains the largest seller of food and drink out of the two supermarket and these figures do not include sales from Argos.

This news comes ahead of the planned £7bn merger between the two supermarket giants, which is currently under investigation by watchdog CMA.

Sainsbury’s and Asda have claimed that the merger would deliver £1bn of lower prices annually by the third year, which would reduce prices by around 10% on everyday items. They are also willing to sell up to 150 supermarkets, as well as a number of convenience stores and petrol stations, if the merger goes ahead.

The CMA is due to deliver its final report by 30 April.