The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price is in focus as the company reported a 4.5% lift in group sales to $18.1 billion for the third quarter, led by strong Australian Food sales up 5.9% and a 20.2% jump in eCommerce sales.
What did Woolworths Group report?
- Group sales increased 4.5% to $18.1 billion for the 13 weeks to 5 April 2026
- Australian Food sales up 5.9% to $13.8 billion; Woolworths Food Retail sales up 7.3% (excluding Tobacco)
- Group eCommerce sales rose 20.2% to $2.7 billion, now 16.6% of Australian Food sales
- New Zealand Food sales up 1.4% (NZD), with a challenging retail environment
- W Living division (BIG W and Petstock) sales up 4.8%; Petstock grew 15.9%
- Group Net Promoter Score (VOC NPS) of 47, up 3 points on March 2025
What else do investors need to know?
The company continued investing in value for customers, technology, and convenience, driving strong growth in eCommerce channels and loyalty program engagement. Everyday Rewards active members hit a record 10.7 million, with digital platform traffic up 10.5%.
Performance in New Zealand remains subdued as the market becomes more competitive and operational changes take time to bed in. In Australia, customers responded well to new digital tools, fresh products, and rewards, which helped partially offset cost-of-living pressures. Woolworths also noted some operational disruptions, a seasonal drop in customer sentiment, and emerging inflationary pressures, particularly for fuel.
What did Woolworths Group management say?
Woolworths Group CEO Amanda Bardwell said:
In Q3 we made further progress on our strategic priorities with investment in value, fresh, convenience and execution delivering improved sales momentum in Australian Food which drove strong Group sales growth.
Looking ahead, the conflict in the Middle East is creating greater uncertainty for our customers, suppliers and team at a time when cost-of-living pressures are already acute. While the impact on the Group to date has been limited, higher fuel costs and secondary effects are likely to have an increasing inflationary impact as we move through the calendar year. By putting customers first and maintaining a strong focus on productivity and cost discipline, I am confident we can navigate the current environment to continue to build a stronger, more resilient business while balancing the needs of all our stakeholders.
What’s next for Woolworths Group?
Woolworths expects Australian Food EBIT growth for the full year 2026 to remain in the mid to high single digits, but now not at the upper end, due to higher fuel costs and additional support for shoppers facing inflation. In New Zealand, the food retail environment is anticipated to remain tough, with slower progress on transformation and EBIT expected to be slightly below the prior year in the second half but above FY25 for the full year.
The Group remains focused on digital innovation, value, and customer experience, with further updates due at its full-year results in August. While conditions are uncertain, Woolworths is backing its strategy on cost-control and customer-first initiatives.
Woolworths Group share price snapshot
Over the past 12 months, Woolworths shares have risen 18%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 7% over the same period.
The post Woolworths Group Q3 sales grow as shoppers turn to value and convenience appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.
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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Woolworths Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.