Sainsbury’s, which also owns Argos, said that total sales, excluding fuel, edged down 0.7%. Like-for-likes were down by the same proportion.

The retailer’s grocery sales rose 0.4%, buoyed by a 7.3% increase in online food revenues. However general merchandise was down 3.9%, despite a 4.4% advance in clothing sales, as the toys and gaming categories suffered. Online sales overall climbed 5%.