The popularity of ‘Veganuary’ decreased this year, with shoppers spending €200,000 less compared to last year, according to new data from Kantar.
Shoppers opted for ease after the Christmas break, according to the figures, with an additional €3.3 million spent on chilled convenience, but sales for chilled or frozen plant-based products fell by 2.6%.
Last year, January saw sales of meat-free alternatives grow by 4%, with shoppers spending an extra €102,000 on tofu.
Kantar data
Grocery inflation stands at 5.9% in the 12 weeks to January 21, 2024, compared to 7.1% in December, and a high of 16.3% for this time last year.
Take-home grocery sales are starting to slow with a more moderate 2.2% increase in the four weeks to January 21.
Sales on promotion grew by 9.9% year-on-year, with shoppers spending €92.6 million more than last year, according to the new data.
This means that 28.9% of all value sales this period were on promotion.
Premium own label ranges also performed well, with shoppers spending an additional €157 million on these lines with growth of 10.3% when compared to this time last year.
Business development director at Kantar, Emer Healy said:
“Many Irish consumers are keeping a very close eye on their purse strings after indulging over the festive period and to help manage household budgets, many are trading down to supermarket’s own label products and looking for deals.”
Retailers
Dunnes hit a new record share of 24.6% with growth of 9.9% year-on-year.
Tesco holds 23.8% of the market, also a new record for the retailer, with growth of 9.4% each year. Tesco had the strongest frequency of trips growth amongst all the retailers again.
Lidl held 12.5% share and growth of 8.2% year on year. More frequent trips contributed an additional €30.9 million to its overall performance.
Aldi holds 10.8% share, with more frequent trips and new shopper arrivals contributing an additional €5.9 million to its overall performance.