Dunnes Stores has remained as the supermarket with the highest market share in Ireland, data from Kantar has revealed.
Dunnes has a 24.3% share of the market, with growth of 8.9%, year on year.
Frequent trips, up by 5.9%, were a key contributor to growth, adding €46.7 million to the overall performance.
Tesco Ireland holds 23.5% of the market, indicating 8.8% growth, year on year.
Tesco displayed the strongest frequency growth, year on year – up by 12.4% – contributing an additional €91.8 million to its overall performance.
SuperValu holds 20.6% of the market, with 4.2% growth, year on year. SuperValu shoppers made, on average, 20.9 trips in store – the highest of all retailers surveyed.
Lidl and Aldi came next, with shares of 12.8% and 10.9%, respectively.
Lidl saw 7.2% growth, year on year, with more frequent trips providing an additional €34.7 million to its performance.
Aldi saw more frequent trips and new-shopper arrivals combined, adding €5.2 million to the retailer’s overall performance.
Grocery Inflation
Across all retailers, take-home grocery sales increased by 5.4% in the four weeks to 18 February 2024.
The key driver of growth was grocery price inflation, rather than customers buying more, the Kantar data showed.
The average price per pack rose by 3.7%, while volume per trip fell by 3.1%.
However, the frequency of trips increased by 3%, year on year, remaining a key contributor to market growth.
Grocery inflation this period went down by 11.7 percentage points, compared to the same 12-week period last year.
It stands at 4.7% – down by 1.2 percentage points since January (5.9%) – making February the tenth consecutive month wherein grocery inflation has fallen.
Inflation levels have reached their lowest point since April 2022, with a gradual decline expected throughout the year.
Other Spending
Two significant holidays – Valentine’s Day and Pancake Tuesday – saw increases in spending.
Over 58% of Irish households purchased boxed and gifting chocolates in the 12 weeks to 18 February 2024.
As Valentine’s Day fell midweek and many shoppers are conscious of budgets, retailers saw an additional €4.3 million spent on chilled ready meals and €916,000 on sparkling wine.
Pancake Tuesday saw shoppers spend an additional €2 million on flour, eggs, and chocolate spread.
Online sales went up by 17.3%, year on year, with an additional €28.3 million spent online versus last year.
Online channels continue to attract new shoppers, with 18.4% of Irish households purchasing groceries online – up by 0.5%, year on year.
Read More: Irish Grocery Sales Slowed After Record-Breaking December – Kantar
