Irish grocery sales in the run up to Christmas were worth €3.1 billion, according to the latest Kantar sales data.
In the 12 weeks up to December 26, the grocery market grew by 11% when compared to 2019.
However, as restrictions around bars and restaurants were eased the market was back 5.2% compared to the record sales of 2020.
Grocery
As more households were allowed to mix over Christmas, this was reflected in grocery sales of €1.1 billion in December alone; that’s just 0.6% behind the 2020 figure.
Kantar data shows the December 2021 spend was up €141 million on the same month in 2019, which translates to an extra spend of €65 per household.
“More guests meant larger trips to the supermarket for many people in the run up to Christmas. Shoppers were eager to make up for lost time last year and willing to spend a little more on the big day itself to make it special,” Emer Healy, senior retail analyst at Kantar, said.
Consumers spent an extra €3.1 million on Christmas dinner and turkey sales jumped by €1.9 million.
However, sales of the controversial Brussel sprouts were back 1.4%.
Shoppers also splashed out €10.5 million more on biscuits, cheese and confectionary, compared to Christmas 2020.
Over the 12 weeks, alcohol sales fell by 23%, however the tally was up 6.7% compared to 2019.
The data shows that no or low alcohol products increased in popularity by over 12%.
Consumers spent an additional €1.2 million on cold remedies and €1.4 million on cough syrups in the run up to Christmas.
Kantar also noted that the increase in online grocery shopping is continuing; over the 12 weeks, almost 17% of households purchased their goods digitally.
Supermarkets
The data shows that Dunnes has retained the top spot as the most popular supermarket in Ireland with a 23.2% market share.
However, SuperValu and Tesco weren’t far behind with both having a 22.2% share of sales.
All of the multiples recorded a drop in sales compared to 2020, but saw significant gains on the 2019 figures:
