The amount that Irish consumers spent on groceries increased year-on-year for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to Nielsen’s latest retail performance data.
In the first quarter of 2016, the volume of fast-moving consumer goods purchased in Ireland rose 1.1% year-on-year, while the average prices paid for them rose 1.1%.
This meant that grocery retailers saw a 2.2% rise in takings at the tills. The last time there was a year-on-year decrease in takings was in the first quarter of 2015 (-0.5%).
Matt Clark, managing director for Nielsen Ireland commented, “With the economy stabilising, Irish consumers are feeling more confident, and we’re seeing that manifest itself in their purchasing behaviour – both in terms of the increases in the amount of goods they're buying and the average price they're paying for them.”
While Ireland saw strong growth, Turkey had the highest growth in takings at the till of any of the 21 European countries measures, with an increase of 9.7%. Meanwhile, Greece has the biggest decline of -6.1%.
Of the five major western European markets, Spain (+3.1%) had the highest growth.
Germany was the only one of the big five to experience a year-on-year decline in takings at the tills (-0.4%) and one of only four countries in the whole study to decline.
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
