Tesco has pipped Dunnes Stores at the post, to become Ireland's top grocer, according to the latest research from Kantar.
Amongst the top three retailers, the landscape has become more competitive as the gap narrows with only 0.1ppt between the top two retailers.
The latest figures show that Tesco now holds a 22% share of total grocery market spend in Ireland and has seen growth of 0.1% in the last 12 weeks after welcoming four million additional shoppers.
Dunnes holds a 21.9% share of spend, having grown 1.5% during the period by attracting new shoppers; which contributed an additional €23.2 million to its overall sales performance.
SuperValu, with a 21.5% share, continues to see shoppers returning to its stores more often than any other retailer.
Lidl, holding 13.5% of the market, also welcomed new shoppers to its stores which contributed an additional €13.6 million to its overall performance.
Aldi, with a 12.6% share, boosted its shopper base by 1%.
Combined with shoppers making more return trips, this contributed an additional €8.6 million to Aldi's overall performance.
Price Increase
Grocery prices in Ireland are 7.7% higher than they were a year ago, the figures showed.
Consumer spending on take-home grocery sales in Ireland fell by 3.1%, over the 12 weeks to 10 July 2022.
The decline has slowed over the latest four weeks, with a drop of 0.9%.
Inflation Impact
Inflation remains a key challenge for retailers, manufacturers and brands.
Consumers have been able to combat some of the effects of inflation through choosing cheaper products, but the average price paid for each item has still increased by 6.3%.
Emer Healy, senior retail analyst with Kantar, commented, “We are seeing rising costs on many fronts, and shoppers’ weekly grocery bill is no exception to the rule.
"Food and drink prices are continuing to climb, and the impact of this on shopping budgets is now unavoidable for many consumers.”
Altered Shopper Behaviour
Shoppers are altering their behaviour to manage these rising costs by turning towards cheaper alternatives and reducing their shopping frequency.
Healy explained, “Consumers are now making two less trips to the supermarket on average compared to this time last year.”
Branded items are feeling the impact of shoppers looking for ways to mitigate rising prices, with clear signs that they are turning to retailers’ own label offerings instead, which tend to be less expensive.
As a result, brands’ share of grocery spend has dropped to 47.6%, from 49.6% in 2020, with shoppers spending €72 million less on branded goods year-on-year.
Own Label Goods
Sales of own label goods grew 1.5% over the last 12 weeks, with shoppers spending €19 million more year-on-year. Sales of own label ranges at Tesco, Dunnes, Lidl and the online retailers grew by 21.1%, collectively, ahead of the overall own label market.
Retailers’ own label now accounts for 46.7% of the Irish grocery market in terms of consumer spend, compared to 44% in 2020.
In particular, shoppers are turning towards the value ranges within own label, with sales jumping 9.7% as shoppers spent €4.8 million more year-on-year.
Despite challenging circumstances, shoppers embraced the sunshine and prepared for rising temperatures that were set to sweep the nation.
Healy noted, “With a summer free of restrictions and welcomed sunshine, Irish consumers took the opportunity to gather with family and friends.
"Brighter and warmer days called for barbecues, and over the past four weeks shoppers spent an additional €540,000 on take-home savouries, €1.5 million on soft drinks, €170,000 on chilled burgers and grills and €656,000 on fresh sausages. However, they are likely to feel the pinch as a result, as due to rising prices the cost of hosting a barbecue has increased on average 7.4% over last year."
Online Shopping Increases
Online grocery sales in July were up 15%, with shoppers spending an additional €6.1 million compared to last year.
An influx of new online shoppers contributed an additional €4.8 million to overall spend.
Online sales of own label goods saw a massive 21% boost during the month of July, with shoppers spending an additional €10.9 million.
Read More: Dunnes And Tesco Jointly Lead The Way As Ireland's Top Grocers
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
