Sales are up by 1.2% in the Irish grocery market, according to the latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel.
The latest data, which covers the 12 week period ending 1st of February, show a strong sales recovery at Christmas across most major retailers, and signify that the market is now in its 11th consecutive period of growth.
Georgieann Harrington, Consumer Insight Director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “There are clear signs that the grocery market is improving along with the overall economy.
"Shoppers are taking advantage of lower grocery prices by visiting supermarkets more often and putting more in their baskets when they go. On average, consumers increased their grocery spending by €5 in the latest period.”
In terms of market share, leadership of the Irish grocery space is now very much a two-horse race. Tesco has maintained the top position in the market, with 25.2% market share, despite its sales falling by 2.1% compared to the same period last year. Closely behind however, Supervalu holds 24.9% market share, just 0.3 percentage points behind Tesco.
Dunnes was the best performing supermarket our of the 'Big Three' during the period, with sales growth of 1.7%, its highest since last July. The retailer attracted an extra 17,000 shoppers through its doors this period and their basket spend has enjoyed a 3% increase to just over €35.
Discounters Lidl and Aldi have continued their double digit growth of 12.5% and 11.5% respectively. Both retailers continue to increase footfall with over 60% of Irish households shopping in each in the past 12 weeks. Interestingly, Lidl has seen more shoppers visit, though Aldi has increased the amount which shoppers spend on each visit.
Georgieann Harrington commented: “With signs of recovery in the market, it’s great to see the positive trend continue after the key Christmas period. The battle for shoppers will continue well into 2015 and this will create more value for Irish households as retailers go head to head”.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Hannah Popham.
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