Irish grocery growth reaches 3.5%

The latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, published today for the 12 weeks ending 14 August 2016, show stellar growth for the grocery market with sales increasing by 3.5% compared with last year.

David Berry, director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “Over recent months the price of groceries has increased slightly, with an average basket now costing 2.7% more than this time last year. Areas where we have seen the most significant increases include vegetables, fruit and beer – all major categories for the retailers.”

Among the major retailers Dunnes Stores has posted the strongest growth this quarter, with sales 5.8% ahead of last year. The retailer now captures 21.2% of the market, up from 20.7% this time last year. While the outlook remains sunny for Dunnes, growth has slipped back recently: in May sales grew by 8%, and the retailer will be seeking a return to this strong performance for the rest of 2016.

SuperValu continues to post positive results with sales growth of 3.2%, maintaining its position as the number one grocery retailer for the 11th consecutive month. Further welcome news for Ireland’s biggest supermarket comes in the form of boosted footfall: an additional 15,000 households shopped with the retailer in the past 12 weeks. Meanwhile Tesco remains in second place, although its market share has dipped to 21.8%.

David Berry continues: “Lidl’s market share has reached 11.9% – a new record high for the retailer, beating its previous best of 11.8% from August 2015. Lidl is reaping the rewards of recruiting 34,000 new shoppers during the past 12 weeks.

“Aldi’s share of the market has increased by 0.1 percentage points to 11.3%, alongside a significant improvement in sales growth. The retailer has recovered well since March this year when it saw sales growth dip below 1.0%: a healthy 4.4% increase in the past 12 weeks shows its performance is firmly back on track.”

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