Dunnes Stores and SuperValu are now tied for the top spot in the Irish grocery market, with each commanding 22.5% of the market, Kantar Worldpanel figures have recently revealed.
David Berry, director at the research firm, commented, "Having reached the number-one spot for the first time last month, Dunnes now shares that position with SuperValu – a real testament to just how competitive this marketplace is. Just 0.7 percentage points now separate the three largest retailers as we enter the all-important festive period."
For the 12 weeks ending 4 December, nearly 64% of households paid a visit to Dunnes Stores, making a return trip and spending €39.50 per visit (almost €3 more than in 2015).
Dunnes is the only retailer that has offered strong growth to brands (+5.7%) over private-label goods, which increased by 3.3%.
In the same period, SuperValu posted a 1% increase in sales, with shoppers increasing purchases by €1 on average per visit.
Berry added that in the past quarter, Tesco has regained ground, with positive growth in sales since March. An extra 10,000 households have visited Tesco in 2016 and are returning more often.
As for the discounters, Lidl's sales increased by 4.3%, ahead of the overall market (+3.7%), carving out a slightly larger portion of market share.
Aldi has demonstrated the strongest growth of any of the retailers, with sales up 6% year on year.
Kantar also reported that grocery-market inflation in the 12 weeks ending 4 December was 0.6%, a slight drop from last month's 0.7%.
The Irish sample surveyed 5,000 households, an increase of two thirds, compared to previous studies.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
