The supermarket giant, which owns Argos, suffered a 3.9% fall in general merchandise sales during the 15 weeks to January 4 as two of its major non-food categories felt the pinch.

Sainsbury’s said the toy market shrunk 10% year-on-year, while gaming tumbled “over 35%”. The grocer did not break out specific figures across the two categories, but said its performance was “broadly in line” with the wider market.

Coupe admitted that Sainsbury’s “significantly overtrades” in toys and gaming – Argos is the largest toy retailer in the UK and the group also accounts for around 18% of all cash spent on games and consoles in the UK.