Dunnes Stores held the lead, in terms of market share, in November, as pre-Christmas shopping made it the highest-spend month across the sector this year, according to Kantar.
Take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased in value by 5% in the four weeks leading to 1 December, reaching €1.24 billion.
The number of shopping trips in the biggest sales month of the year, so far, went up by 1.4%, compared to the same period last year.
Increased Costs
Although inflation has eased, compared to last year, prices remain high.
For a family of four, the cost of an average Christmas dinner has risen to €34.74 – up by 2%, compared to last year.
This was largely driven by the price of turkey and Christmas vegetable staples.
Products such as Brussels sprouts and mince pies saw a price increase of over 10%, compared to last year.
Wider grocery inflation also increased – now at 3.6%, compared to 3.3% last month.
‘Celebrate In Style’
Speaking about these findings, the business development director at Kantar, Emer Healy, said, ”Last year, we saw a whopping €87 million go through the tills on 23 December, and we’re expecting this again, with Monday 23 December set to be the single-busiest day for supermarkets this year – but there are clear signs that Irish shoppers are stocking up early, especially when it comes to festive favourites.
“Shoppers spent an additional €4.5 million on assorted biscuits and crackers, compared to the previous month, while 15% of all households bought mince pies and more than 36% purchased seasonal chocolates in November.
“With most of us looking to treat ourselves at this time of year, Irish retailers are making sure we celebrate in style, with seasonal lines and festive treats being rolled out across stores.
“Shoppers spent an additional €104 million on branded products over the latest 12 weeks, while sales of premium own-label products were up a significant 10.5% over the last year.
“We also saw shoppers spend €18 million more on branded biscuits and beer and cider, compared to this time last year.
“Sales on promotion reached 22% in November – the highest level we have seen since February this year – up 4.2%, compared to last year.
“Shoppers are grabbing the chance to indulge and spend that bit more than usual on festive favourites.
“It’s perhaps no surprise that beer and cider and biscuits saw the highest levels of promotional spending.”
Market Share
Dunnes Stores, once again, led the charge, with 24.9% of Ireland’s market share and year-on-year sales growth of 7.9%, as shoppers increased their number of trips by 7.9% and picked up more packs per trip.
This contributed a combined €72.1 million to Dunnes’ overall performance.
Tesco Ireland came next, with 23.6% of the market share and year-on-year value growth of 7.6%, as shoppers increased their trips to its stores by 6.7%.
SuperValu holds 19.9% of the market, with growth of 3.5%.
However, SuperValu continued leading the way in terms of shopping trips, with customers averaging 24.4 trips over the latest 12 weeks.
The increased number of shopping trips and additional items picked up per trip contributed an additional €20.2 million to its performance.
Lidl Ireland holds a 13.0% share of the market, followed by Aldi Ireland, at 11.2%.
Lidl saw increased trips and increased volumes per trip driving an additional €35.4 million in sales – up by 5.9%, compared to last year – while Aldi’s share went up by 2.5%.
Increased trips to the retailer added €25.5 million to Aldi’s performance.
Read More: Bank Of Ireland Reveals Increased Christmas Spend, Compared To 2023
