Sales in excess of 6%, and over 24m customers in the week to and including Christmas Eve, recorded at the UK supermarket chain.

Sainsbury’s, the UK’s third largest supermarket chain, has reported an increase in sales of 6.2% during the third quarter. Like-for-like sales rose by 3.8% (including fuel), whilst the company confirmed that 24m customers passed through its doors during the week leading to and including Christmas Eve.

During the three month period, which ended 2 January, Sainsbury’s revealed it had dealt with an extra one million customers per week compared year-on-year figures. In a trading statement the company said it was now “well placed to make continued good progress in 2010.”

Shares in the supermarket increased 2.29% mid-morning to over 324p on publication of the results.

Justin King, chief executive, said: “Our strategy of delivering great food at fair prices has resulted in a record Christmas performance…We continue to deliver record levels of customer service and availability demonstrating the commitment of colleagues on behalf of customers, particularly given the difficult weather conditions in the run up to Christmas.”

The Nectar loyalty programme, which Sainsbury’s alongside other retailers including Homebase and Amazon, was acknowledged as an “increasingly important in a competitive market.” The scheme, co-founded by the chain with BP and Barclaycard, now boasts 16m users. An initiative offering double Nectar points for Sainsbury’s financial products has also been described by the company as “working well and successfully increasing sales amongst our customer base.”