Tesco's web growth falls behind rivals

Tesco's online sales growth was surpassed by rivals such as Sainsbury's

Tesco posted its slowest growth rate since the early 1990s, despite plans to use technology to survive in the downturn.

Underlying sales growth at the supermarket group reached 2.5 per cent, while Tesco.com and Tesco Direct combined saw total sales up by 18 per cent to £273m during the festive period.

In December, the firm said that it would bring a range of new online products to market aimed at attracting new buyers.

By comparison, Sainsbury's achieved online sales growth of 27 per cent year-on-year during the three months to 3 January. Like-for-like sales during its third quarter, which included the festive trading period, rose by 3.9 per cent.

And Ocado, which delivers products for department store John Lewis and supermarket chain Waitrose, reported 25 per cent sales growth for the four weeks to 3 January. During the week leading up to Christmas, sales at the online retailer increased by 97 per cent on the previous year.