Co-op's food retail business delivered 2.6% revenue growth to £3.7bn in the first half of 2026, as the convenience retailer increased its market share and invested in price and promotions to drive shopper visits.
Food retail's convenience market share rose to 13.0%, with Co-op saying it outperformed the wider market.
The retailer also reported 24% growth in quick-commerce online convenience sales, with the service now available across 90% of its stores.
Co-op said it invested around 1% of margin in deals, discounts and its customer proposition, including price-matching 135 essential products to Aldi for members.
The investment appears to have helped restore store traffic, with transactions returning to levels seen before the retailer's 2025 cyber attack.
The retailer also continued to expand and refresh its estate, opening 42 stores during the half, including new sites, refurbished stores, franchise locations and sustainability showcase stores featuring solar panels and recycling services.
Its new ‘Pop to Co-op’ campaign has focused on convenience and top-up shopping missions, with Co-op reporting growth ahead of the wider market in core categories including protein and produce.
Co-op has also continued its presence at major UK festivals, with pop-up stores at events including Latitude and Download. It has agreed a further five-year extension to continue the festival programme.
Wholesale and franchise
Co-op's wholesale operation generated £683m in revenue, broadly flat year on year, as the group continued its long-term reset of the business.
The updated Nisa branding has now been rolled out to 25 stores, with 100 planned for the year.
The wholesale and franchise division opened 164 new stores during the period and secured new business agreements worth £142m in total contract value year-to-date.
Co-op said its pipeline stood at a further £280m through to the end of the year. Meanwhile, the group's franchising business continued to grow strongly, with revenue up 26% and 11 new franchise stores opened during the half.
Interim Chief Executive, Kate Allum, said, “2026 is looking like a year of two halves for our Co-op. The first half was characterised by difficult markets and low consumer confidence, especially for Food Retail.
"Against those conditions, we made decisions to drive trade – investing in promotions and investing in our stores – while also mitigating rising costs. These things have had a short-term impact on profitability.
“Speaking now in the second half, we’re seeing bigger baskets and more transactions. Conditions remain challenging, but we see reasons for confidence across our portfolio, having delivered strong growth in areas such as online convenience shopping and funerals.
"We expect to see a stronger performance in the second half than the first, with sales growth and improvements in profitability.
“Our immediate goal is to establish the firm foundations we need to realise greater growth in the years ahead – something we’re gearing up for as we progress our plans to join forces with Southern Co-op.”