Irish grocery sales went up by 6.5% in January on promotions, as Dunnes Stores reached record-level market share following Storm Éowyn, according to Kantar.
Data from the market researcher showed that take-home value sales over the four weeks to 26 January 2025 increased by 6.5%, compared to the same period last year, despite grocery price inflation increasing by 3.4%.
This inflation increase was slightly lower than the one seen in December.
January also saw shoppers returning to stores more often – making 23 trips on average – but picking up less volume per trip, which went down by 1.6%, compared to last year.
Alongside promotions, shoppers continued to spend on own-label products in January, in an effort to keep costs down.
These products saw a 6.9% jump in sales, compared to last year, with an additional €103.9 million spent on those ranges.
Overall, own-label products held a 44% value market share. Brands also saw growth this year, though it was behind the total market, at 5.3%, compared to last year.
In addition to this, health and wellness were of key concern to shoppers, with an additional €8.9 million spent on fresh fruit and vegetables, combined, as well as an 8.6% boost in healthcare spend, compared to last year.
Customers also eased off alcohol following Christmas, with spend on no- and low-alcohol products increasing by over 47%.
Online sales rose by 14.5%, year on year, as shoppers spent an additional €27.4 million through the channel.
Over the latest 12-week period, the number of online shopping trips increased by 11.7%, while new shoppers moved to online, with 19% of Irish households purchasing therein.
Market Share
At the end of January, Storm Éowyn saw the first nationwide red weather warning since 2017, leading consumers to stock up on necessities.
As a result, Tesco Ireland (+8.9%), Dunnes Stores (+8.1%) and SuperValu (+8.5%) outperformed the total market throughout January (+6.5%).
The storm’s impact was also evident in the grocers’ performance in the 12-week data to January 2025.
Dunnes Stores reached a new record of 25% market share, with sales growth of 7%, year on year, as shoppers increased the number of trips while picking up more each time, contributing to a combined €39.2 million in the retailer’s overall performance.
Tesco Ireland came next, with 24.1% of the market and 6.5% value growth, year on year, followed by SuperValu, with 20.3% of the market and 4.2% growth.
Lidl Ireland holds 12.4% of the market, with total spending up by 4.7%.
Aldi Ireland has 10.7% of the market – up by 4.5% versus las year, with an increase in trips contributing an additional €13.3 million to its performance.
‘Easing Pressure’
Speaking about the results, the business development director at Kantar, Emer Healy, said, “Supermarkets were rolling out discounts in the new year as a way of easing pressure on household budgets, and Irish consumers were more than happy to take advantage of them.
“Spending on promotion rose by 8.4%, with shoppers spending an additional €72 million versus last year.
“This is the highest level of sales on promotion we’ve seen since February 2021.
“Dry January was in full swing this year, with 6.2% of all Irish households purchasing non-alcoholic drinks in January.
“Sales of low- and no-alcohol [beverages] soared by over 47%, with shoppers spending an additional €620,000 during the month versus last year.
“However, not everyone took part in Dry January this year, as shoppers also spent an additional €7 million on beer and cider.”
