Irish grocery sales growth remained at 2.7% in the 12 weeks to 8 September 2019, according to the latest figures from Kantar.
Customers stocked up on staples in September contributing to an increase in the sales of cereals, yoghurts, and bread.
Charlotte Scott, consumer insight director at Kantar, commented, "When summer draws to a close people return to their normal routines and their shopping habits shift accordingly.
"Children are back at school and parents needing easy breakfast and packed-lunch options have boosted sales of cereals, yoghurts, and bread by 14%, 10%, and 6% respectively during the past four weeks, compared with the month before."
Scott also added that the sales of chocolate boxes and gifts were 65% higher in this period compared with the previous four weeks.
Ireland's Market Leaders
Dunnes Stores continued to lead the market with a 22.2% market share, up 5.8% year-on-year compared with the same period last year.
Tesco and SuperValu emerged in the second position with a 21.4% market share.
However, Tesco witnessed a 0.5% decline in sales, while SuperValu's sales grew by 1.0%.
In the previous four week period, Tesco's sales declined by 1.1%.
'Welcome News'
Scott cautioned, "It might be too soon to call these improved performances from Tesco and SuperValu a fightback, but it will be welcome news given the recent success of Dunnes, Aldi, and Lidl.
"Looking ahead to next month, it’s likely that this will contribute to all retailers being in growth for the first time since June.”
Aldi recorded the highest growth in sales in the 12-week period, of 11.4%, to hold a market share of 12.5%.
With 12.0% market share in the Irish grocery sector, Lidl reported a 4.1% increase in sales, driven by increased demand for frozen desserts and bread.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
