Grocery sales in Ireland increased by 5% in the four weeks to 23 January 2023, the latest data from Kantar has shown, with grocery price inflation driving value sales growth.
In January, average price per pack rose 14.6%, while volume per trip was down 13%.
Take home grocery sales increased by 6.8% in the 12-week period to 23 January 2023, with shoppers contributing an additional €211.8 million to the overall market performance, and spending an additional €90.50 per household year-on-year, data showed.
Emer Healy, senior retail analyst commented, "The sector growth comes as grocery price inflation hit 16.3% – the highest level seen since Kantar started tracking grocery inflation.
"However, this does trail just behind Great Britain, where inflation hit 16.7% after two months of slight decline. Irish households will now face an extra €1,159 on their annual shopping bills if they don’t change their behaviour to cut costs."
Major Trends
Sales of premium own label lines increased by €5.7 million year-on-year to €152.6 million.
Out of the total, €26.7 million came from the sales of premium own label chilled convenience products, which witnessed growth of 11.6%.
Value own-label lines grew 34% year-on-year, as shoppers spent €17.9 million more on these ranges.
Healy added, "With consumers keeping a close eye on their purse strings after indulging during the festive period, it’s no surprise that shoppers continued to trade down to supermarkets’ own label products this period, with sales rising 10.4%, well ahead of a 4.7% increase in branded lines."
Money-Saving Vouchers
Data from Kantar’s LinkQ unveiled that nearly 38% of shoppers said they always use a money saving voucher.
As a result, the amount bought on promotion has fallen to 27.7%, the lowest level for five years, exaggerating the usual post-Christmas drop off in deals, Kantar noted.
Elsewhere, shoppers spent an additional €848,000 on vitamins and mineral supplements as they focused on health.
Sales of meat-free alternatives grew 4% in January, with shoppers spending an additional €102,000 on tofu.
‘Dry January’ also saw sales of non-alcoholic beverages grow 4.6%, with 5% of Irish households purchasing a non-alcoholic beverage during January, Kantar added.
Top Retailers
Dunnes Stores retained its top position among Irish retailers, with the highest market share of 23.7%. The retailer saw year-on-year growth of 10.3% in the period, driven primarily by new shoppers and existing shoppers returning more often.
Tesco placed second with a 23.1% market share and growth of 9.8% year-on-year.
The market share of SuperValu stood at 20.9%, with 0.9% year-on-year growth. The retailer saw shopping trips up 9.2% year-on-year, with an average of 20.8 trips to its stores.
New shoppers and more frequent trips contributed an additional €25.5 million to its overall performance, Kantar noted.
Aldi's market share stood at 11.6%, with year-on-year growth of 6.8%, as new shoppers and more frequent trips contributed an additional €10.8 million to its overall performance.
In January, online sales increased by 5.6% year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional €8.5 million in online channels.
This growth was mainly driven by new shoppers, with nearly one in five Irish households now purchasing online.
© 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.
