LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - It was a "back to basics" Christmas for Britons, with sales growth of packaged and frozen foods outstripping alcohol and sweets, and shoppers flocking to grocers best known for low prices, a survey showed on Thursday.
Market researchers Nielsen said Wm Morrison Supermarkets, Britain's fourth-biggest grocer, saw the strongest growth among major food retailers, with sales up 8.9 percent in the four weeks to Dec. 27.
Market number two Asda, owned by U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart , grew 5.1 percent, followed by market leader Tesco on 4.6 percent and number three J. Sainsbury on 3.8 percent.
The grocery market as a whole grew 2.6 percent, while sales at major supermarket groups were up 4.5 percent -- levels of growth slightly down from last year.
Growth was driven by food inflation, with volumes up 0.7 percent at the major grocers.
"A late surge to food retailers helped sales but not enough to off set the weak demand at the start of December," Mike Watkins, senior manager, retailer services at Nielsen said in a statement.
"The consumer was much more cautious this year and it was a back to basics Christmas," he said.
Sales of packaged grocery and frozen foods were up 11 percent and 10 percent respectively, outperforming an 8 percent rise in confectionery, a 4 percent rise in liquor, and 1 percent increases in health and beauty and deli counter products.
Growth at upmarket food groups Waitrose and Marks and Spencer picked up in the four-week period, but still lagged well behind the top four chains over the 12 weeks to Dec. 27.
% Share of total grocery market spend
12 wks to 12 wks to Value sales
29/12/07 27/12/08 percent change y/y Tesco 27.9 28.0 3.8 Asda 15.7 16.1 6.7 Sainsbury 14.4 14.4 3.8 Morrison 10.1 10.6 9.1 Co-Op 5.7 5.6 1.5 Waitrose 3.5 3.4 0.2 M&S 4.3 4.1 -0.5 Somerfield 3.4 3.2 -0.9 Iceland 1.7 1.9 14.2
(Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)