Take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 11.3% in the four weeks to 14 May, with the average price per pack up by 13.4%, according to the latest data from Kantar.
In May, shoppers visited stores more often (11.6%), making an additional two trips compared to the same period last year.
Value sales increased significantly in this period, driven by grocery price inflation as opposed to increased purchasing.
Grocery inflation rose by 16.5% in the 12 weeks to 14 May, down marginally (0.1%) on last month, Kantar noted.
Emer Healy, senior retail analyst at Kantar commented, "The slight drop in grocery price inflation is without doubt welcome news for shoppers but it is still high – 16.5% is the third fastest rate of grocery inflation we’ve seen since 2008.
"In response to the high level of inflation, we are seeing consumers change their shopping patterns to off-set part of the increased cost."
Consumer Trends
According to Kantar, shoppers are turning to shopping 'little and often' to help manage household budgets.
In the latest 12 weeks, shop visits were up by 12%, which is equivalent to an additional seven trips. This trend contributed an additional €574 million to the overall market performance.
Sales of private label products increased 16.3%, while branded goods grew by 8.2%, as shoppers looked for ways to save money.
The value own-label category saw the highest year-on-year growth of 32.3%, with shoppers spending €17.5 million more on these ranges.
May 2023 is the first time that branded and own-label products were equal in terms of market share, at 47.3%, data showed.
Elsewhere, Irish shoppers celebrated the May bank holiday with some alfresco dining, which had a positive impact on tills.
Healy added, “Irish consumers welcomed warmer days in May, and as a result the barbecue season has officially started.
"Shoppers spent an additional €6.6 million on beer and lager, €722,000 on chilled burgers and grills and €516,000 on fresh sausages over the four weeks."
Online sales increased by 3.3% year-on-year in the latest 12 week period, with shoppers spending an additional €5.3 million online. Volume sales in the channel declined by 16.3% compared to last year.
Top Retailers
Dunnes Stores emerged as Ireland's top retailer with a market share of 23.1% and growth of 15.8% year on year.
This growth was driven by shoppers returning to store 14% more often, equating to nearly two additional trips, Kantar said.
Tesco ranked second with a market share of 22.4% and 14.5% growth.
It also witnessed the strongest year-on-year frequency growth of 16%, which contributed an additional €93.7 million to its overall performance.
With a market share of 20.6% and growth of 5.8%, SuperValu held the third position. Its shoppers made the most number of store trips compared with all retailers, with an average of 23.8, an increase of 15.4% year-on-year.
Lidl registered a new market share record of 13.6% and saw growth of 15.8% year-on-year.
More frequent trips contributed an additional €44.4 million to the discounter's overall performance.
Elsewhere. rival discounter Aldi held a 12.1% market share with growth of 11.3% year on year.
A boost in new shoppers and more frequent trips contributed an additional €53.2 million to Aldi's overall performance, Kantar added.
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
