Latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator shows take-home grocery sales in Ireland rose 6.2% over the four weeks to 10th August amid a further increase in inflation in the sector, rising from 5.43% to 5.86%.
Irish shoppers buying goods for summer festivals, concerts and the Galway Races contributed an additional €68.2m to the grocery market’s overall performance. However, shoppers visited stores less often (-0.5%) and, when they did, they continued to pick up fewer packs per trip (-2.6%).
Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator, commented: “Irish social calendars have been overflowing with consumers enjoying the last of the summer sun, spending a whopping €7.2m extra on alcohol and an additional €1.3m on suncare. Shoppers also indulged in other ways, spending an additional €8.9m on take-home soft drinks and chocolate. With such busy calendars, it’s clear that shoppers needed a bit of an energy boost, with nearly €1 million more spent on sports and energy drinks compared to the same time last year.”
Meanwhile, shoppers spent €735m on promotional lines during the 12-week period to 10th August, an 8.9% increase compared to the previous year. Key growth categories included alcohol, frozen and household, all growing ahead of the total market for promotional lines.
Brands performed behind the total market (+5.7%), with growth slowing to 3.7%. Despite this, shoppers still spent an additional €58.7m on branded products, significantly up on the last 12-week period. Own-label saw stronger growth at 6.3%, with premium own-label the standout performer, up 14.5%. Shoppers spent nearly €17.7m extra on these ranges.
Brands currently hold 47% value share of the total market in Ireland, with own label on 47.1%.
Looking at the performance of individual grocery retailers, Dunnes now controls 23.5% of the market after seeing sales growth of 6.3% year-on-year. Its shoppers returned to stores more often, up 2.2%, which contributed €16.7m to their overall performance.
Tesco holds 23.4% of the market after delivering value growth of 5.6%. Shoppers increased their trips to its store by 2.9%, which contributed €22.3m to overall performance.
SuperValu controls 19.7% of the market, having achieved growth of 4.2%. Consumers made the most shopping trips to this grocer, averaging 25.6 trips over the 12 weeks, up 9.6%. This increase in the number of shopping trips contributed an additional €61.6m to its performance.
Lidl’s market share increased to 14.2% after seeing growth of 9.5%. The discounter also saw shoppers pick up more volume in store, up 3.1%, contributing an additional €13.8m to overall performance. Aldi’s market share edged down to 11.8%, with growth of 4.4%. Increased store trips and new shoppers drove an additional €13.3m in sales in its stores.
Meanwhile, online’s value share of the Irish market currently now stands at 5.6%, with sales rising by 6.8% year-on-year, and shoppers spending an additional €12.5m through this channel.
