The Woolworths-owned Countdown supermarket chain lifted sales 3.2 per cent in the March quarter, which the retailer put down to growth in fruit, vegetables and perishables.
Sales across the 180 Countdown stores were $1.69 billion in the 13 weeks ended March 31, up from $1.64b a year earlier. Adjusting for Easter, when consumers typically line the aisles to stock up for the two days when supermarkets have to close their doors, the Australian company said sales were up 2.9 per cent.
Countdown's sales growth lagged behind the 4 per cent increase in electronic card spending on consumables in the March quarter, while the supermarket's 0.6 per cent decline in average prices compared to a 0.7 per cent increase in grocery food prices, according to government data.
Cheaper fruit and vegetables and lower grocery prices led to the wider contraction in Countdown's prices, offset in part by more expensive meat. Excluding tobacco, which was hit with its annual 10 per cent tax hike, average prices shrank 0.9 per cent.
Countdown launched a new programme to source more produce from local growers, and said it now gets 85 per cent of fruit and veg directly from farmers.
