Grocery inflation has increased slightly for the first time in 15 months, reaching 2.6%, as take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 6.6% in the four weeks to 7 July 2024, market researcher Kantar reported today.
According to the data, grocery price inflation is driving value sales growth, rather than increased purchasing.
There was also an increase in shopping frequency in July – up by 3.2%, compared to the previous month.
Market Share
Dunnes Stores, once again, holds the greatest share of the market, at 23.2%, with 7.5% year-on-year growth, closely followed by Tesco, with a 23.1% share and 6.7% growth.
Dunnes’ growth stems mainly from more frequent and larger trips, while Tesco had the strongest trip frequency growth for another consecutive month.
SuperValu holds 20.4% of the market, with 3.2% growth, as shoppers make the most trips in store – an average of 21.6 – compared to all the retailers featured.
The retailer also saw the strongest growth in volume per trip amongst all retailers – up by 5.1% – while welcoming new shoppers into stores, contributing an additional €50.2 million to overall performance.
Lidl holds 13.9% of market share, with growth of 4.9%, year on year, followed by Aldi, with 12% of the market and 0.6% growth.
More frequent trips contributed €36.8 million to Lidl’s overall performance, and trip frequency combined with new-shopper arrivals added an additional €11.6 million to Aldi’s overall performance.
Sports
Significant sports events in recent weeks, such as the 2024 Euros, Wimbledon, and the All-Ireland Hurling Championship, have gotten Irish consumers into the spectator spirit ahead of the start of the Paris Olympics.
Sales of savoury snacks, chocolate, wine and cider were up during July, with shoppers spending a combined €12 million on these items, compared to the previous month.
Grocery inflation saw a small increase of 0.14 ppts last month, to reach 2.6% in the first inflation increase following a 15-month decline.
Weather
Colder weather this year means that people are not spending as much as usual on summer products, such as barbecue essentials and chilled pre-packed salads.
In the last four weeks, shoppers spent a combined €800k less on chilled salads, burgers and steaks than they did at this time last year.
Conversely, soups and hot drinks saw a combined €1.8 million sales value increase, compared to last year.
Online sales went up by 12.1%, year on year, with shoppers spending an additional €19.2 million on the platform.
An increase in volume per trip alongside recruiting new shoppers contributed to a combined €12.5 million in the platform’s overall growth.
Deals
Speaking about the latest data, the business development director at Kantar, Emer Healy, said, “Although there has been a slight increase in inflation, it’s still the lowest level we’ve seen since March 2022, and down 11.8 ppts, compared to July 2023.
“It means that shoppers in Ireland remain on the lookout for value deals in the market, with over 25% of value sales on promotion.
“With retailers keen to push their own-label products, we’ve seen strong sales this period, with shoppers spending an additional €67.8 million, year on year, and total market growth of 4.5% on these ranges.”
Premium own-label products performed strongly, as shoppers spent an additional €15.5 million on these lines – growth of 10.8%, compared to last year.
Brands grew ahead of the total market in the latest 12 weeks – up by 6% – with shoppers spending an additional €83.6 million on branded products versus last year.
Read More: UK Grocery Inflation Falls To 1.6% – Kantar
