Grocery sales fell by 2.2% in Ireland in the 12 weeks to 3 October, Kantar has said, however spend is still up 9.4% on the same period in 2019.
Commenting on the current state of the Irish grocery market, Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar said that the lifting of social restrictions, coupled with high vaccination rates, means that shoppers are "more comfortable going out and visiting physical stores, but they also mean people’s social calendars are filling up again.
"More socialising means we’re living less regimented lives, and with more eating at restaurants, pubs and on the go, the reliance which many had on supermarkets to get their meals last year is starting to fade."
Online sales continue to gain ground, with the latest four-week period seeing online grocery sales rise 7.1% year-on-year, with an additional €3 million spent through the channel.
Inflation On The Rise
Inflation is also increasing, Kantar data showed, with the past 12-week period seeing the highest levels of inflation in the market since March of this year.
Prices are 0.6% higher than a year ago, with healthcare, hot beverages and frozen food the most inflationary categories – up 8.0%, 5.1% and 4.6% respectively.
Ireland's Major Grocers
Boasting 22.3% market share, SuperValu continues to lead the Irish grocery market – the Musgrave-owned retailer saw sales down marginally (-0.2%) in the 12-week period compared to last year. SuperValu recently announced plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 70% by 2025.
Dunnes Stores (21.9% market share) places second, with Tesco (21.4%) in third, while discounters Aldi and Lidl hold 12.8% and 12.7% share respectively.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
