Grocery inflation in Ireland has climbed to a record high of 12.4%, according to the latest Kantar report published today (Monday, October 17).
The report warned that the average annual shop is due to increase by almost €870 as a result of price rises.
Kantar said that the average price of staple products such as butter, milk and bread now 28% higher than this time last year.
Grocery sales in Ireland increased by 3.6% in the 12 weeks to October 3, 2022.
Shoppers spent an additional €99.1 million compared to the same period last year, while the number of shopping trips increased by almost 4%.
As a result of rising prices consumers are changing their shopping preferences with the sales of supermarket own-label ranges increasing by 7.2%, while value own-label ranges recorded sales growth of 23.5%.
The report shows a drop in online sales for the first time since March with a 5.5% increase in consumers choosing to visit stores instead.
Commenting on the findings, Emer Healy, senior retail analyst at Kantar, said:
“Grocery price inflation is the highest level seen since Kantar started tracking the data.
“As food and drink prices continue to climb alongside other financial pressures, 32% of shoppers in Ireland admit they are ‘struggling’ to make ends meet, a figure that has increased from 23% in March of this year.
“The average annual grocery bill will go from €6,999 to €7,867 if consumers don’t make any changes to what they buy and how they shop to cut costs.
“This means the average annual shop is set to rise by €868 a year. At a basket level, that’s an extra €3.36 per trip”.
Despite the increasing prices, Kantar said that shoppers are preparing for the Halloween ‘trick or treat’ visitors; sales of pumpkins are up by a quarter compared to last year, while an additional €2.1 million has been spend on sweets and chocolate.
The report shows that Dunnes has the highest market share with 22.7% and growth of 8.2% year-on-year driven by a 5% increase in new shoppers.
Tesco holds 21.8% of the market, followed by SuperValu on 21.2%, Lidl with 13.1% and Aldi on 12.7%.