Tesco is celebrating its highest market share in over a decade following a strong Christmas trading period.

The retailer’s market share hit 29.4% in the four weeks to 28 December, up 31 basis points, reflecting 32 consecutive four week periods of year-on-year gains. Claiming to have “outperformed” the market on both a value and volume basis, Tesco’s 12-week market share rose 23 basis points to 28.7%.

UK supermarket sales rose by 3.2% in the six weeks to 3 January and by 3.9% in the previous 13 weeks making up its third quarter.  

Positive festive performance means Tesco now expects to deliver adjusted operating profit at the upper end of the £2.9bn to £3.1bn guidance it shared last October.  

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The results come amid intense competition across the grocery sector, with supermarkets across the board ramping up their price investment in the lead up to Christmas.  

CEO Ken Murphy praised the retailer’s investment in value during a call with media this morning (8 January), citing Tesco’s Christmas dinner for a family of six for under £10 as one example.  

“We did everything possible to make sure our customers got the best value from us,” he said.

Consistent marketing investment pays off

Tesco’s commercial performance over Christmas follows a shift in its festive marketing strategy. In 2025, the retailer moved away from one hero ad to a “series of vignettes” aimed at reflecting the realities of the Christmas season, created with agency partner BBH.  

“We’re really pleased with our marketing campaign over Christmas, it was truly a 360-degree campaign,” Murphy told Marketing Week. 

“[Success was] complemented by a very strong print campaign around the quality of our food and the richness of our offering, and then, of course, we overlaid that with a really strong value campaign,” he added.  

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This combination of marketing tactics “worked really well” for Tesco, the CEO claimed, driven “through a multi-channel approach with a really strong social media presence”. 

Concerning its investment in marketing, Murphy said spend was “roughly in line” with Christmas 2024.

“So, it was very strong. We always seek to have the strongest share of voice over Christmas,” he explained. 

Sales of Tesco’s premium Finest range grew 13% over the 19-week period, with party food ranges recording strong growth of 22%. Tesco’s home and clothing like-for-like sales rose 2.1%, growing by 4.4% during the Christmas period. 

Online sales increased 11.2%, while Tesco’s express grocery delivery service Whoosh grew 47%.  

“Despite a backdrop of subdued consumer confidence and increased competition, value continues to be a key priority as customers seek to make their money go further and we’re determined to do everything we can to help,” Murphy added. 

His comments follow news earlier this week Tesco is reviving its blue and white striped ‘Value’ logo for a new price push. The move sees more than 3,000 branded products added to the retailer’s ‘Everyday Low Prices’ initiative, sitting alongside Aldi Price Match on more than 650 lines and Clubcard Prices.

“Our job really is to make sure that our focus stays really, really laser-like on the customer and that we deliver the strongest possible overall shopping trip to the customer,” Murphy said.