Shoppers spent an additional €92 million this Christmas period, according to figures published today by Kantar World. The report which focuses on the 12 weeks ending 1 January 2017 shows a 3.8% increase on 2015.
The average household spent €193 on Christmas day, which is €35 more than last year.
David Berry, director, Kantar Worldpanel explains: “After a turbulent 2016, shoppers really chose to treat themselves this Christmas. Always popular over the festive period, biscuits and chocolates did even better than usual. Irish families spent 9% more on seasonal confectionery than last year, making sure they had plenty of sweet treats to keep them going over the festive period. More were in the mood for a Christmas tipple too, with alcohol experiencing double-digit growth. This was partially down to more multi-buy promotions in stores tempting shoppers to up their spend.
Berry also highlighted how 2016 was a competive year for the grocery market with Ireland’s three biggest supermarkets vying for the top spot all year long.
He added, “It was Supervalu that came out on top after a tussle with Dunnes Stores at the end of last year, a position the retailer has held for 10 out of the past 12 periods.”
Despite a return to second place, Dunnes Stores continued to perform well. Sales for the Christmas period were almost 5% higher than in 2015; Tesco continued to improve its performance, with sales growing by 1.3% over the final quarter.
Elsewhere, Aldi posted the strongest growth of all Irish supermarkets with sales up by 5.3% and the retailer attract 37,000 new shoppers during the 2016 Christmas period.
© 2017 - Checkout Magazine by Donna Ahern
