Consumers buying Hallowe’en treats and Christmas staples have driven the biggest sales month so far this year for grocers, according to Kantar.
The latest data shows that take-home grocery sales increased by 6.4% over the four weeks to November 3, 2024 to reach €1.16 billion.
Grocery inflation over the 12 weeks to November 3, 2024 stood at 3.3%, which is down 6.15 percentage-points when compared with the same time last year.
Kantar
Kantar said that Irish households shopped more often in October, up 2.6% compared to last year, stocking up for Hallowe’en, the bank holiday ahead of the school mid-term break and Christmas, leading to a 5.4% overall increase in volume sales.
Pumpkin sales increased by 4.5% (€63,000), sales of Brussels sprouts surged by 43% as shoppers spent an additional €149,000 on this traditional holiday staple.
Eimear Faughnan, head of retail at Kantar said that October was an important month for Irish shoppers as they prepared for the first school holiday of the new term and Hallowe’en.
“Shoppers stocked up on Halloween treats, spending a ‘frightening’ €8.9 million more than last year on chocolate confectionery, €2.4 million on savoury snacks and €1.6 million on sweets.
“It’s clear that Irish households are also preparing for the holiday season. Shoppers spent an additional combined €774,000 on flour, fruits and nuts, icing and cake mixes as they ready their Christmas cakes,” she said.
Shoppers
Over the latest 12-week period, Kantar noted that shoppers took advantage of promotions spending an additional €40 million on deals compared to the previous period.
The share of products sold on promotion sits at 18.5%. Branded products outperformed own label for the third consecutive 12-week period, resulting in a 2.6 percentage-point gap, as shoppers boosted branded value sales by 7%.
Online sales rose by 11.8% year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional €21.5 million through this channel.
Over the latest 12-week period, the number of online shopping trips increased by 16.5%, adding €29 million to the channel.
The data shows that Dunnes Stores currently holds 24.5% market share, followed by Tesco with 23.4% of the market, SuperValu on 19.7%, Lidl with 13.5% and Aldi on 11.5% market share