The latest figures from Kantar show take home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 17.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to April 19 as shoppers adjusted to life under lockdown. The new figures show that while grocery sales are strong, retailers will have felt the effects of social distancing restrictions on food on the go purchasing and other non-grocery categories.
Lidl was the fastest-growing retailer during the full 12-week period, boosting sales by 22.1 per cent and increasing its market share to 12 per cent, while Aldi grew by 15.6 per cent to an 11.8 per cent share. SuperValu’s saw it benefit from shoppers choosing to visit outlets closer to home. It was the only retailer not to experience reduced footfall in the last month.
Demand for online grocery has soared as people try to limit their contact with others and 10 per cent of Irish households received an online grocery delivery in the past four weeks compared with six per cent last year. An extra €20.6 million was spent online this month and the number of retired people getting groceries delivered doubled in the past three months.
Consumers are looking for ways to pass the time during lockdown. Kantar’s David Berry says people are turning to cooking from scratch as a good way to keep their families entertained at home. Sales of ready meals are in decline but half of Irish households bought baking supplies in the past four weeks, with flour up 52 per cent and sugar up 43 per cent.
FAVOURITE TIPPLES
Shoppers trying to recreate their favourite takeaway dishes have also boosted sales of ethnic ingredients by 41 per cent and herbs and spices by 61 per cent. “There are signs that people are trying not to let the lockdown dampen their spirits. While beer gardens and wine bars remain off limits, people have turned to the grocers for their favourite tipples,” Berry said.
Alcohol sales were up by 70 per cent, an extra €47 million. Wine sales increased by 50 per cent year on year, while beer, lager and cider sales benefited from the warmer weather and were double the levels in the same four weeks in 2019. Shoppers are adding an extra four items to their baskets each visit, increasing their average monthly grocery bill by €118.
The change in shopper behaviour adds up to an extra €440m spent on grocery in the past 12 weeks, but the extra spend is impacting retailers in different ways. Before lockdown, Dunnes customers already spent 80 per cent more than the average shopper each visit at €43.80.
It means Dunnes has experienced less of a jump in spend per trip than those grocers starting from a lower base. As a result, it is growing slightly behind the rest of the market, but with extremely narrow margins and only 0.5 percentage points separates the top three retailers.
