Cash-strapped Britons are seeking out cheaper groceries with supermarket Asda reporting a surge in shopper numbers during October.
Wal-Mart owned Asda said more customers spent more with them last month, lured by Halloween specials on kids costumes and party food.
"In a difficult economic environment Asda had another strong month," said Wal-Mart director Mike Duke as the world's largest retailer updated Wall Street on monthly sales.
Duke said grocery and clothing were the best performing areas with sales of Halloween merchandise "ahead of expectations".
Competition in the UK grocery market has intensified in the past year as supermarket bosses desperately try to hold on to shoppers worried about food price inflation.
Upmarket food stores like Marks & Spencer and Waitrose have suffered this year as even the well-heeled trade down to budget chains and the discounters. Asda is the UK's second largest supermarket with a market share of 17.1%.
Wal-Mart has also benefited from belt-tightening in its domestic market where like-for-like sales were up a better-than-expected 2.2% in October. The retailer has been running TV ads that claim a family of four can save $700 a year by shopping at Wal-Mart.
