Asda has posted sales growth for the first time in more than two years, a "major milestone" in the turnaround being led by Allan Leighton following his return to the grocer.

The supermarket recorded like-for-like sales excluding fuel growth of 0.2 per cent in the seven weeks to mid-August, while like-for-like food sales rose 0.7 per cent.

The improvement comes after years of significant market share losses, as Asda has contended with intense competition from German discounters Aldi and Lidl and struggled to lift sales volumes. Asda's difficulties have stood in contrast to the broader UK grocery market, where discounters have continued to expand their share as cost-conscious shoppers trade down, putting pressure on the traditional big four supermarkets.

Leighton was brought in as chairman in November 2024 to lead the recovery. The former Royal Mail and Co-op boss previously served as Asda's chief executive during the retailer's 1990s heyday and orchestrated its £6.7bn sale to Walmart.

Commenting on the return to growth, Leighton called it a "major milestone for Asda", the result of 18 months of "hard work to strengthen our proposition, improving price, availability and the overall shopping experience".

"While this progress is encouraging, we are still in the foothills of recovery. There's still more work to do as we focus on building a stronger business for the long term," he added.

The figures were released alongside Asda's second-quarter 2026 results, which showed like-for-like sales falling 2.3 per cent, with food sales down 1.9 per cent. Total revenue edged up 0.4 per cent to £6.5bn in the quarter. Growth has accelerated in recent weeks, rising 2.1 per cent year on year — the trajectory that will be closely watched in coming quarters as a test of whether the turnaround is taking hold.

According to Worldpanel by Numerator, Asda's market share losses have steadied in recent months, holding at 11.5 per cent.

Asda battles shaky consumer confidence

Aldi and Lidl have both leapfrogged rival Morrisons into the top five in recent months, sitting behind Asda with 10.8 and 8.8 per cent of the market respectively.

Michael Gleeson, Asda's finance chief, said the grocer was contending with fragile consumer confidence as it battles to rebuild market share.

"A challenging geopolitical and economic backdrop continued to weigh on consumer confidence and household budgets during Q2," he said. "Despite these pressures, our continued investment in price and the overall customer proposition means we continue to make steady progress in our turnaround journey."

Looking ahead, Asda is set to launch the pilot of its partnership with home delivery firm Ocado before the end of 2026. The retailer will also roll out a collaboration with Amazon Ad Services later this year, which it says will "deliver a more personalised online shopping experience for customers". Both moves form part of Asda's efforts to strengthen its online offer as it seeks to rebuild its position in a market where digital sales have become an increasingly important battleground.

Asda was bought by private equity firm TDR Capital in 2021 and has struggled under a hefty debt pile since the takeover. Net debt fell from £4.1bn to £3.5bn in the year to December 2025, though over the same period Asda's pre-tax loss widened by 65 per cent to £989m.