Latest data from Kantar shows growth in the Northern Irish grocery market accelerated to 12.9% in the 52 weeks to 27 December 2020. Sales were stronger again over the most recent 12 week period, rising by 14.8% in the lead up to Christmas.
Looking at individual retailer performances, Emer Healy, an analyst at Kantar, said: “Tesco maintained its position as Northern Ireland’s biggest grocer with 35.2% of the market this period. More than 9 in 10 Northern Irish households visited the store in 2020 to help it grow sales by 11.7%.
“Sainsbury’s saw the second-highest growth of the top four retailers, with sales up by 12.8%. Sainsbury’s shoppers bucked a wider trend of declining footfall and only made one fewer trip than this time last year, aiding growth for the retailer. Meanwhile, Asda sales rose by 8.3% this period. The retailer achieved growth through consumers making bigger trips, with basket sizes up 25.6%.
“Lidl, which increased sales by 19.7%, was the only retailer to grow ahead of the market this period. The grocer successfully recruited more shoppers and over three quarters of the population visited the supermarket at least once in 2020.”
Healy added: “Christmas was far from traditional this year and fewer seats around the table meant sales of turkey declined by 1.4% while sales of lamb and roast beef were down by 12.8% and 0.3% respectively. There was also a drop in spend on other indulgent categories like cheese, cakes, seasonal biscuits and smoked fish.
“However, shoppers still found small ways to treat themselves and sales of ice cream, crisps, chocolate, sweets, and nuts all grew this period. With the closure of bars and restaurants, alcohol was top of the shopping list this Christmas as sales grew by 36.7% to add £100m to the total market.”
