It is a long time since Tesco has seen rivals eating its lunch. Its 2 per cent increase in third-quarter like-for-like sales was creditable for a retailer of its size in a downturn. But the 8.1 per cent increase from stores open at least a year on Thursday reported by Bradford-based Wm Morrison would be impressive at any time – let alone with food inflation evaporating and the economy nosediving.

Of course, comparing bald like-for-like figures between retailers may not be comparing like with like. Tesco has a far bigger proportion of non-food – hit much harder by the nascent recession – though that cannot in itself account for all the difference. Morrison’s more price-focused model ought to see it do better, comparatively, in tough times. Perhaps most importantly, the UK’s fourth biggest grocer has finally emerged from the painful integration of the Safeway acquisition four years ago. It is now making those stores work. Launching its “store optimisation” plan – involving revamps to its range, store appearance and distribution – in last year’s third quarter quickly brought in 250,000 new shoppers a week. It has since added 450,000 more. That 4-4.5 per cent increase is a big contributor to sales growth.