# Sainsbury’s warns of tough Christmas as households curb spending

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/sainsburys-expects-challenging-run-up-to-christmas-as-households-feel-squeeze/
- Published: 2026-10-22T10:33:58+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-22T10:52:25+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/22/sainsburys-challenging-run-up-to-christmas-households-feel-squeeze
- Topics: Business, Culture, Food, Government, Politics

## Key points

- Sainsbury’s expects a tough Christmas trading period.
- Sales growth slowed to 1.9% in the second quarter.
- Annual underlying profit forecast rises to at least £1.02bn.

## Summary

Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts expects a “pretty challenging” run-up to Christmas as households limit spending and food producers face rising costs. He urged the government not to add to business costs in next week’s budget, and said high energy and fertiliser prices could push food prices up next year.

The supermarket’s sales grew 2.6% in the six months to 12 September, slowing to 1.9% in the second quarter; its shares fell 3.7% after the results. Online grocery sales rose 9% and premium Taste the Difference sales increased 6%, while Argos sales fell 1.8% and general merchandise and clothing sales dropped 3.4%. Underlying profit rose 5.2% to £366m, excluding Argos, and Sainsbury’s raised its annual profit forecast to at least £1.02bn.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.