Sainsbury’s sales rise as people turn to its Argos chain amid strikes

Supermarket on track for profits at top end of forecasts after shoppers go ‘all out for big Christmas dinner’

Shoppers going “all out for a big Christmas dinner” and returning to Argos stores amid the rail and postal strikes have helped put Sainsbury’s on track to achieve annual profits at the top end of expectations.

The UK’s second-biggest supermarket said sales rose by 7.1% in the six weeks to 7 January compared with the same period in 2021 – ahead of the 5.2% average for the three-month period to the same date – as 50% more people visited its Argos outlets in supermarkets amid fears of delivery holdups.