Grocery price inflation has soared to a new record in Ireland at 16.3%, according to figures published by evidence-based insights and consulting company, Kantar.
Unless households change their shopping behaviour, they will now face an extra €1,159 on their annual shopping bills, senior retail analyst at Kantar, Emer Healy has warned.
The rate of inflation is based on over 30,000 identical products compared year-on-year in the proportions purchased by Irish consumers at a constant shopping behaviour, Kantar explained.
Grocery sales
Higher prices have driven value sales growth, rather than volume driving market growth, in the four-week period up until Monday, January 23, 2023.
Take-home grocery sales were up by 5% last month, while online sales increased by 5.6% with shoppers spending an additional €8.5 million, Kantar figures show.
“Veganuary” and “Dry January” saw sales of meat-free alternatives grow by 4%, with shoppers spending an extra €102,000 on tofu, and sales of non-alcoholic drinks up by 4.6%.
In the 12 weeks prior to January 23, take-home grocery sales rose by 6.8%, with Irish shoppers contributing an additional €211.8 million, which is €90.50/household, year-on-year.
Following the Christmas period where a record of €1.3 billion was spent, shoppers continued to choose own-label products with sales up by 10.4%, compared to a 4.7% rise in branded lines.
Sales of premium own-label lines have reached €152.6 million which is €5.7 million higher than last year. Value own-label lines saw the strongest growth, up by 34%, with shoppers spending €17.9 million more.
The Irish grocery market is more competitive than ever before, with shoppers looking for the best deals and retailers looking to retain customers, including through the use of loyalty schemes, Kantar said.
Retailers
Dunnes Stores holds the highest market share at 23.7% and growth of 10.3% year-on-year. New and more frequent shoppers in-store added an additional €24.9 million to its performance.
However, Tesco has the strongest frequency growth, up 10% year-on-year. The retailer accounts for 23.1% market share and growth of 9.8%.
SuperValu holds a 20.9% share of the market and 0.9% growth. Shoppers make the most trips in-store with 20.8 trips on average, up 9.2% year-on-year.
New shoppers and more frequent trips added €25.5 million to Lidl’s overall performance holding a 12.2% share and 9.9% growth. Aldi shoppers added €10.8 million to its 11.6% share and 6.8% growth.