M&S predicted to overtake Waitrose after seasonal boost

MARKS & SPENCER is on course to overtake Waitrose as the middleclass supermarket of choice after a surge in Christmas sales, analysts have predicted.

The two supermarkets were neck and neck with an equal share of the grocery market over the festive period, industry data showed.

According to Nielsen IQ, both Marks & Spencer and Waitrose each had a 3.8pc share of the grocery market in the 12 weeks to Dec 30.

However, the figures showed this was an improvement for M&S from a year earlier, when its slice of the market totalled 3.7pc, while Waitrose’s share fell from 3.9pc.

Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, said: “There is a lot of strong momentum behind M&S. There is every chance that they could overtake Waitrose in the coming months.”

Nearly three in 10 of households shopped at M&S in December, the Nielsen data suggested, rising from 27pc in the same period last year, the equivalent of 500,000 extra shoppers.

This led to a rise in sales of 12.1pc for M&S over the festive period, significantly outstripping a 3.6pc increase at

Waitrose. Analysts at BNP Paribas have touted M&S as a likely “Christmas winner” among the supermarkets. The retailer is due to publish a trading update for the festive period today.

It is the latest blow that the resurgent M&S has dealt to Waitrose during a rapid return to prominence over recent years. In February last year, industry magazine Retail Week predicted M&S would likely overtake John Lewis, which owns Waitrose, in size by 2026.

M&S stormed back into the FTSE 100 in August on the back of a turnaround led by Stuart Machin, the chief executive, that has seen its share price rise by almost 100pc over the past 12 months.

The supermarket had been relegated to the FTSE 250 in 2019 as sales slumped and its share price fell below the required threshold. It won back shoppers by revamping food and fashion.

A spokesman for Waitrose said: “We are confident about our performance. Our quality, value and service is attracting new customers and over the Christmas and new year period we were one of only four grocers who grew customer numbers relative to the market.”

Marks & Spencer was contacted for comment.