Christmas is always a winner for the supermarkets, but one chain saw record December sales.

Sainsbury's - Britain's second biggest supermarket - saw sales rise 9.3% in the four weeks to December 24, giving it a market share of 15.8% - its highest since December 2020, according to analysts Kantar.

Across the grocery sector, overall sales hit £13bn for the month for the first time ever, as reported by Retail Gazette. Average household spending was up 6% to £477 for the month.

The research found that almost a third of spending over the festive period was on items with a promotional offer, up by more than £820m on the same period in 2022.

The most popular shopping day was Friday December 22. Just over 25 million supermarket trips were made and shoppers spent £803m in stores - 85% more than the average Friday in 2023.

Kantar said own-brand premium lines, like Sainsbury's Taste the Difference and Tesco Finest, were particularly popular for Christmas, making up 5.7% of all grocery sales.

Sainsbury's, Tesco Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose accounted for a total market share of 70% for the 12 weeks to December 24, but the discounters continued to increase their market share.

Lidl's festive sales were up 12% year-on-year, partly due to the success of its own-brand premium Deluxe line.