The Irish supermarket and convenience store sector posted a 5.0% increase in value sales in the third quarter of the year, a new study by Retail Ireland, a representative group for the sector, has found.
Volume sales for the sector were up 5.7%, it added.
Taking September in isolation, value sales were up 4.6% in Irish supermarkets and convenience stores, while volume sales were up 5.3%.
Convenience Store Growth
However, this growth is 'not evenly spread', Retail Ireland said, 'with convenience stores faring better than supermarkets and within the supermarket sector hard discounters doing better than traditional supermarkets'.
It noted that while the gap between volume and value continues to narrow, the fact that volume sales are still ahead of value sales indicates that inflation in the segment remains subdued.
Elsewhere, specialised food and drink stores, such as butchers, fishmongers and off-licences, saw a 0.6% increase in value sales in the third quarter (+1.8% in September) and a 1.8% increase in volume sales (+2.8% in September).
Fuel retailers were down 0.6% in value sales and up 0.7% in volume sales in the quarter, with pharmacies seeing a 3.3% value and 5.9% volume increase.
Department stores continue to find the going tough, however, reporting a 8.9% decrease in value sales and a 5.9% decrease in volume sales in the period.
Overall, all retail sales were 2.3% higher in value terms for the quarter, and 4.9% up in volume terms. In September alone, overall value sales were 2.3% higher, with volume sales up 5.1%.
'Deep Discounting'
Commenting on the report, director of Retail Ireland, Thomas Burke, said that a constant trend that has persisted in the Irish retail sector for some time has been that of 'deep discounting'.
"Regardless of the category it appears that Irish consumers, and by default Irish retailers, are now addicted to price promotion as a sales driver and generator," he said.
“This continues to pose a challenge for the retail sector, one which is likely to be exacerbated in the coming weeks as we approach the landmark discounting periods of Cyber Monday and Black Friday. Consumers are ever increasingly seeking discounting and sales throughout the year not just confined to these two periods which have now become a main stay of the retail landscape in Ireland.”
On the threat of Brexit, Burke added that while the recently-agreed extension to the end of January has provided "some respite" for the sector, "this is only a momentary one as all eyes will once again be trained on the UK as the country goes to the polls on December 12th. We now have the prospect of Brexit uncertainty continuing over the most important trading period of the year, Christmas.”
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
