Marks & Spencer (M&S) has reached a significant milestone in the UK grocery sector, achieving a 4.5% share of the market when factoring in both its physical stores and online sales through Ocado. This data, drawn from confidential Worldpanel figures seen by The Grocer, places the retailer on par with Waitrose, each holding a 4.5% share of the grocery market. The split reveals that M&S’s physical stores contribute around 4% of this share, with an additional 0.5% stemming from its online partnership with Ocado. Industry observers note that this performance aligns with M&S’s CEO’s strategic aim of securing a 4.5% grocery market share via its stores alone by 2028.

M&S’s growing footprint in the grocery sector corresponds with notable expansions in its Ocado sales, which have risen by 11.9% year-on-year in the recent 12 weeks ending 7 September 2025. This increase is part of Ocado’s wider surge in grocery retailing, with Ocado’s joint venture sales—with M&S central to this—recording a 13.9% jump over the equivalent period last year, boosted by a rise in weekly orders to 442,000. Industry data from NIQ supports this upward trajectory, highlighting that M&S’s UK food business experienced a 9.7% increase in grocery sales during the 12 weeks up to late January 2025, placing it as the fastest-growing brick-and-mortar grocer in the country at that time.

Despite these gains, M&S has recently navigated operational challenges. A significant cyberattack in April 2025 temporarily disrupted its online clothing sales and other systems, leading to supply constraints, wastage, and higher logistics costs. The company estimated these issues led to a £300 million loss in operating profit. Nevertheless, in the 12 weeks to early August, M&S food sales rebounded strongly with a 6.7% year-on-year increase, indicating resilience and recovery from the earlier disruption.

The online channel’s importance to M&S is underscored by Ocado’s performance. Ocado Group has been narrowing its annual losses, helped by the continued migration of shoppers to online grocery retail. Ocado’s full-year pre-tax losses narrowed by nearly 5% to £374.5 million, with group sales rising 14.1% to £3.16 billion. Its retail business, heavily linked to M&S, benefited from accelerated order growth and expanding sales, reinforcing the joint venture’s vital role in M&S’s grocery strategy.

This momentum reflects wider industry trends where online grocery shopping is an increasingly critical segment, while physical retail stores remain essential for customer reach. While M&S and Ocado report strong growth, discounters like Aldi and Lidl continue to expand their market share, having increased their combined share to 16.3%, indicating intense competition across the grocery market.

In summary, M&S’s achievement of a 4.5% grocery market share, matching Waitrose, represents a critical milestone underpinned by robust store sales and a flourishing online presence through Ocado. The resilience shown in recovering from operational setbacks, along with Ocado’s enhanced performance, positions M&S well as it strives to meet its longer-term market share ambitions amid a competitive and evolving grocery landscape.