ASDA'S worst ever quarterly performance hasn't hindered its growth in Northern Ireland.
According to the latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, the retailer saw a 1.8 per cent jump in spending in the past year.
It was the only one of the big three chains to record a rise in the period.
It comes after Asda - owned by US giant Walmart - posted a 7.5 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the second quarter of the year.
It was the eighth consecutive quarter of sliding sales and a worsening of the 5.7 per cent drop seen in the previous period.
However, Asda remains tied with Sainsbury's as the joint second favourite grocers in the north each with a 17.5 per cent share of the market.
In fact, the combined share of the firms would only just be enough to eclipse Tesco which commands a 34.6 per cent share of the market.
Overall, consumer spending was 0.4 per cent up over the year.
In the Republic meanwhile, sales in the grocery market grew 3.5 per cent over the past 12 weeks compared to the same period in 2015.
Among the major retailers, Dunnes Stores posted the strongest growth this quarter, with sales 5.8 per cent ahead of last year.
The retailer now captures 21.2 per cent of the market, up from 20.7 per cent this time last year.
While the outlook remains sunny for Dunnes, growth has slipped back recently. In May sales grew by 8 per cent, and the retailer will be seeking a return to this strong performance for the rest of 2016.
SuperValu continues to post positive results with sales growth of 3.2 per cent, maintaining its position as the number one grocery retailer for the eleventh consecutive month.
Meanwhile, Tesco remains in second place, although its market share has dipped to 21.8 per cent.
Kantar Worldpanel director David Berry said: “Over recent months the price of groceries has increased slightly, with an average basket now costing 2.7 per cent more than this time last year. Areas where we have seen the most significant increases include vegetables, fruit and beer – all major categories for the retailers."
And he said the budget retailers continued to impress.
“Lidl’s market share has reached 11.9 per cent – a new record high for the retailer, beating its previous best of 11.8 per cent from August 2015. Lidl is reaping the rewards of recruiting 34,000 new shoppers during the past 12 weeks," he said.
“Aldi’s share of the market has increased by 0.1 percentage points to 11.3 per cent, alongside a significant improvement in sales growth. The retailer has recovered well since March this year when it saw sales growth dip below 1 per cent: a healthy 4.4 per cent increase in the past 12 weeks shows its performance is firmly back on track.”
