Latest data from Kantar shows that grocery sales in Northern Ireland grew a further 1.4% in the 52 weeks to 16 June 2019, as higher average prices and smaller, more frequent grocery trips buoyed the market.
Commenting on individual retailer performances, Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar said: “Lidl has broken the 6% market share threshold for the first time following growth of 7.6% over the past year. The retailer’s success is largely thanks to existing shoppers putting more items in their baskets each time they shop. The average Lidl trolley now contains two more items than it did last year, helping to drive volume growth of 6.7%.
“With sales growth of 1.0%, Tesco remains the largest retailer north of the border, accounting for 35.1% of the market. Central to Tesco’s dominance in Northern Ireland is the fact that more than nine out of 10 households have shopped there over the past year.
“With modest growth of 0.1% and 0.2%, Sainsbury’s and Asda remain some distance behind Tesco, holding market shares of 17.1% and 16.9% respectively. Sainsbury’s growth has largely been thanks to increased footfall – the number of households shopping at the retailer is up by 5.8% since last year. Meanwhile, Asda’s growth is predominantly down to its existing shopper base spending more.”
Similar data released yesterday for the grocery market in the Republic of Ireland showed Dunnes and the discounters continuing their strong growth, whilst Tesco and SuperValu saw slight reductions in their market shares.
NAM Implication:
- Need any more encouragement to find ways of working with Lidl in NI?
