Dunnes Stores holds the greatest market share of Irish supermarkets, as back-to-school figures reveal, having been overtaken by Tesco last month, according to Kantar.
The market researcher reported that Dunnes Stores holds 23.6% of the market share, with growth of 9.4%, year on year, and the strongest growth in trip frequency across all retailers – up by 12%, year on year, contributing an additional €83.6 million to its overall performance.
Tesco falls just below Dunnes, with 23.5% of the market – up by 10.7%, year on year – and frequent trips contributing an additional €32.9 million to its overall performance.
SuperValu holds 19.9% of the market, with growth of 2.5%, followed by Lidl, with 13.7% share and 6.9% growth.
Aldi holds 11.8% of the market, with 1% year-on-year growth.
Online sales across retailers went up by 10.7%, as shoppers spent an extra €18.2 million, year on year, with increased frequency contributing an additional €17.5 million to the overall platform.
Back To School
Take-home grocery sales increased by 5.4% in the four weeks to 1 September 2024, as Irish households prepared for the new school year.
Shopping frequency increased by 0.7% in September, along with an increase in average prices of 2.4%, as volumes per trip rose slightly, by 0.4%, after six months of decline.
Despite inflation rising again – sitting at 2.8% over the last 12 weeks, compared to the same period last year – it is still at its lowest level since March 2022.
Additionally, inflation is down 8.5 percentage points on September 2023.
As late August and early September spelled back-to-school preparations, Kantar noticed increased spending in a number of categories.
These included an additional €2.1 million spent on biscuits, €1.3 million spent on cheese, and €460,000 on bread, as shoppers went back to preparing school lunches.
As busy schedules take hold, shoppers also turned to quick meal options, resulting in an extra €2.6 million spent on chilled convenience food, compared to August.
Speaking about this month’s trends, the business development director at Kantar, Emer Healy, said, “As summer comes to an end, many shoppers prepared for the back-to-school routine, with more packed lunches and after-school meals to prepare.
“Shoppers continue to take advantage of promotional offers from retailers, with spending on promotions up by 9.6%, compared to this time last year.”
Own Label
Shoppers are still purchasing retailers’ own-label ranges, as high levels of inflation last year drove them away from branded products.
Sales of own-label products went up by 4.5%, year on year, holding a value share of 47%, with shoppers spending an additional €66.8 million, year on year, on these products.
Premium ranges also performed well, with shoppers spending an additional €14.2 million on these lines – up by 10.2%, compared to this time last year.
However, as major retailers heavily promoted brands in their recent marketing campaigns, branded goods outpaced total market growth, increasing by 8.4%.
Shoppers spent an additional €121 million on branded products, compared to last year, and over 60% of branded goods were purchased on some form of promotion – up by 9.8% on last year.
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