Irish take-home grocery sales fell by 4.5 per cent over the 12 weeks to February 20. Nevertheless, spending still remains 11.1 per cent higher than before the pandemic, the latest Kantar report shows. The drop in spending comes as grocery price inflation over the past 12 weeks hit 2.4 per cent, marking the seventh consecutive month of accelerating inflation.
The number of products sold on promotion fell by 10.9 per cent year on year as retailers sought to manage mounting supply costs. Prices are rising across the board and it is being felt at the grocery tills. “We’re now starting to see this reflected in shopper behaviour, with people increasingly opting for private label lines over branded products in an attempt to drive down the cost of their weekly shop,” Kantar’s Emer Healy said.
Healy said supermarkets were quick to respond to concerns over the cost of living through targeted ad campaigns and vouchers. Such tactics will become more important as grocers battle for the biggest slice of consumer spend. Lidl, which recently rolled out a new ad campaign pushing its ‘inflation buster’ prices, now holds a 12.2 per cent share.
Loosening
The German discounter was boosted by new shoppers who contributed an extra €4.1 million to sales figures. Aldi also gained market share over the past 12 weeks and now accounts for 11.7 per cent of total sales. Further loosening of Covid-19 restrictions during February contributed to the fall in supermarket sales as people returned to offices and city centres.
Healy said shoppers are juggling commuting and socialising again after months at home. Shoppers spent an extra €4.3m on chilled foods like pizzas and ready meals while schools were on mid-term week. Home baking is lower on shopper’s agendas. Sales of flour, eggs and chocolate spreads were all down 27.6 per cent, 20.6 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.
Grocery market shares
Dunnes Stores 23 per cent
SuperValu 22 per cent
Tesco 21.9 per cent
Lidl 12.2 per cent
Aldi 11.7 per cent
Source: Kantar
