As temperatures rise, Covid-19 restrictions ease, and outdoor dining returns we are all starting to spend a little less time in the kitchen, and the latest Kantar grocery/supermarket data can attest to this.
The latest figures from Kantar show that in a 12-week period to June 13, sales of home-cooking ingredients like oils, herbs and spices, and ready-made sauces declined by 14.9%, and shoppers spent €94.4 million less on alcohol in supermarkets.
In addition, although grocery-market sales declined by 5.7% year on year during the 12 weeks, sales were down 7% in the most recent four weeks, as warmer weather and outdoor hospitality returned and the market continued to annualise against the extraordinary supermarket spending of the first lockdown.
But, Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar, pointed out, things are still far from ‘normal’ in terms of general alcohol and grocery spend.
“It’s clear that we’re edging back to eating and drinking out, but sales of take-home alcohol are still a whopping 36.4% higher than before the pandemic and, now that people can visit friends at home, some of their spending will have been redirected to on-the-go purchases, which are not captured in this data.”
Grocery sales down but not normal
Grocery sales may be lower than last year, but we are still a far cry from normal life, Emer continued.
“Spending in the latest 12 weeks was an incredible 17.6% higher than before the pandemic and the average Irish household spent €218 more on groceries than 2019. That being said, there are early signs of newfound freedoms in Irish shopping baskets.”
The reopening of hospitality coincided with a spell of warmer weather after an unseasonably cold May.
“Summer definitely took its time this year, but Irish shoppers have now embraced the sunshine and stocked up on summer essentials.
“Sales of sun-care products soared by 58% compared with the previous month, and shoppers splashed out €948,000 more on ice cream and €566,000 more on burgers and grilling food than in May.”
Confidence is gradually returning in Ireland as the vaccine rollout continues, Emer explained.
“Warmer temperatures and vaccine numbers mean many of us are feeling happier to pop to the shops and make more frequent, smaller trips – visits were up 1.7% this month and basket sizes shrank by 8.1%.
“The tide may also have turned on one of the biggest trends of the past year – online sales declined by 4.4% in the past four weeks, the first drop since March last year. Retired households are driving this trend and spent €2.4 million less online than last year – a clear indicator of rising confidence.”
Grocer preference
SuperValu remained the largest grocer during the past 12 weeks with a 22.3% share of the grocery market. Tesco maintained its second-place position in the table with a market share of 21.4%. Dunnes accounted for 21.2% of grocery sales.
Both Aldi and Lidl benefited from the return to stores and slight shift away from online shopping this period. Lidl held 12.9% and Aldi’s market share was 12.3% during the 12 weeks.
Grocery market inflation stands at -1.2% for the 12-week period ending June 13.