Grocery price inflation has hit a record 14% in Ireland which will drive the average cost of a traditional Christmas dinner for four people in Ireland to €41.58 this year, according to new projections.
Latest figures from the market research organisation, Kantar, suggest that the average grocery bill is also set to rise by an extra €1,034/year.
Emer Healy, senior retail analyst said: “As food and drink prices continue to rise alongside pressures on household bills, the impact on shopper budgets is unavoidable for many people.
“Now with inflation at 14.7%, the average annual grocery bill is set to rise from €7,037 to €8,071.”
“At a basket level, that’s an additional €4.23 on top of the cost of the average shopping trip of €28.75.”
According to Kantar’s latest Irish grocery market report published today (Monday, December 12) overall sales during the month of November increased by 4.5% driven chiefly by an 11.5% increase in average prices.
It also shows that that people shopped more frequently and that online sales also grew by 3.5% in November.
Grocery sales
Kantar has forecast that thanks to a combination of rising inflation and festive spending, December is set to be a record-breaking month for grocery sales in Ireland with tills expected to ring up €1.25 billion for the first time.
It is also predicting that December 23, is likely to be the busiest day for pre-Christmas shopping.
Kantar’s analysis shows that in the last 12 weeks shoppers have spent an additional €1.2 million on gifting and chocolate boxes and €3.5 million more on savoury snacking, and an estimated €617,000 on mince pies.
But people are not buying as much of one seasonal vegetable; the spend on brussel sprouts has fallen by an estimated €189,000 this year.
It also highlights the inflationary impact on the cost of a traditional Christmas dinner in 2022 compared to 2021, including the cost of a seasonal tipple.
The Kantar latest Irish grocery market report also looks at the performance of the supermarket groups in the 12 weeks to November 27, 2022.
It illustrates that Dunnes Stores had the highest share amongst all the retailers at 23.3%, while Tesco holds 22.2% of the market and SuperValu had a 20.9% share.