Sainsbury’s has announced a fall in sales for the 10 weeks to 14 March this year.

Fourth quarter total sales declined by 0.3% (excluding fuel), while like-for-like sales were down by 1.9% (excluding fuel).

This is the fifth consecutive quarter where the retailer has reported a fall in like-for-like sales.

Chief executive, Mike Coupe, said, 'The trading environment remains challenging and the decisions we have taken to improve our competitiveness are reflected in our quarterly performance. Since we announced our Strategic Review in November we have lowered the regular prices of over 1,100 products, ensuring our price position relative to our major competitors has never been stronger.'

He continued: 'We expect the market to remain challenging for the foreseeable future. Food deflation is likely to persist for the rest of this calendar year, and competitive pressures on price will continue. However, we believe that the great value and quality of our products, combined with a strong focus on developing our multi-channel offer, will enable us to outperform our supermarket peers.'