Irish shoppers have spent a record €9.9 million on Easter eggs this year, according to latest figures by Kantar which monitors the grocery purchasing habits of households in Ireland.
Grocery spending topped €23.9 million for the first time ever in the days leading up to Easter Sunday this year, business development director at Kantar, Emer Healy said.
While rising prices played a major role, the number of chocolate Easter eggs sold in the seven days to Easter was also 22% higher than last year with nearly 34% of Irish consumers buying one during this period, Kantar said.
Many also opted for hot-cross buns with shoppers spending over €1 million in the week leading to Easter which is up 7.7% on last spring. Kantar figures also show that Irish households benefitted from supermarket deals during Easter.
Shoppers remained on the hunt for value when it came to their Easter purchases with 24.9% of sales going through the till being for items on promotion. This was higher for Easter eggs, with over 43% of value sales on promotion.
Grocery price inflation
Grocery price inflation now stands at 2.9% which is down 12.9 percentage points when compared to April 2023. Although value sales are up this month, inflation is the driving factor behind this rather than increased purchasing, Kantar said.
“This is the twelfth month in a row that there’s been a drop in grocery inflation, so more good news for consumers. It’s the lowest inflation level we have seen since March 2022.
“What’s more, our latest pressure group survey shows that Irish consumers have a more positive outlook with fewer people struggling financially thanks to the easing of inflationary pressures.
“Around a quarter of shoppers admit they are still struggling, and while this is still significant, it’s a big improvement on the 32% who reported the same last October,” Healy said.
Irish shoppers
Take-home grocery sales increased by 4% in the four weeks to April 14, 2024. April was a strong month with shoppers spending more in-store than usual in preparation for Easter and the school holidays, Kantar said.
Volumes per trip rose slightly by 0.4% as did visits to store (up 1%), with shoppers making 21.5 trips on average over the month of April. The average price per pack grew more marginally this month at 0.7%, figures show.
Retailers also pushed own-label lines to get Irish shoppers through the doors. Sales of own-label products performed strongly, growing ahead of the total market at 6.5% year-on-year and holding a value share of just under 48%, Kantar said.
Over the latest 12 weeks, shoppers spent an additional €97 million year-on-year. Premium own-label ranges also performed well with shoppers spending an additional €18.7 million on these lines year-on-year, according to latest figures.
Online sales rose by 19.5% year-on-year with shoppers spending an additional €33 million. New online shoppers contributed a further €14.1 million alongside more frequent and larger trips boosting online sales, Kantar said.