Sainsbury’s has said that sales fell for the third quarter in a row, with total sales for the second quarter down 0.8% excluding fuel and like-for-like sales down 2.8%.

The supermarket said that performance in the quarter had been impacted by the increased competition including price wars and food price deflation.

Mike Coupe, chief executive, said "The market remains dynamic and fiercely competitive. The long-running trend of more frequent, convenient shopping has accelerated, resulting in smaller basket sizes.  An increase in price investment and short-term competitor promotional activity, combined with favourable commodity markets, has resulted in deflation in many areas of our food business.

“As part of our commitment to help our customers Live Well for Less, we have announced a change to the way we set our prices. Customers tell us they find supermarket prices and promotions confusing. We have responded by lowering base prices on thousands of lines within the food business and simplifying Brand Match to make it clear that we match Asda's prices on brands - even when they are on promotion.

“Given the pace of change in the market, our differentiated offer based on quality food and great service remains important. We won five awards at the Retail Industry Awards last week including Store Manager of the Year.  We were also crowned in-store bakery of the year at the Bakery Industry Awards.

“Our general merchandise and clothing businesses continue to deliver strong growth. Our clothing brand Tu celebrated its tenth anniversary during the quarter with the launch of our largest ever collection, which helped to drive double-digit sales growth. We also successfully launched an online clothing trial to selected customers in the Midlands.

“We are focused on serving our customers in the channel of their choice.  Our convenience business reached annualised sales of £2 billion and continues to grow strongly, at around 17 per cent. Groceries online grew by around seven per cent, impacted by a high level of competitor customer acquisition activity in the quarter.