Updated: 4.25pm
IT’S OFFICIAL: PEOPLE in Ireland buying more groceries.
For the twelve weeks ending on 22 June, grovery sales increased by 2% – the fastest rate since March 2013.
Four years ago, the same period saw a 4.5% drop in sales.
Figures released by Kantar Worldpanel today show that SuperValu was the biggest winner this quarter – gaining 87,000 new shoppers.
This means that almost three quarters of Irish households shopped in SuperValu during this period.
Aldi and Lidl continued to deliver growth ahead of the market – increasing sales by 19.5 and 12.4 percentage points respectively. The two chains now have 8.1% and 8.2% of market share.
Tesco and Dunnes are still the biggest grocery retailers in Ireland, with 26.1% and 21.1% of market share respectively. However, sales at Tesco dropped by 3.4% in the three months surveyed, while Dunnes’s share grew by just 0.5%.
Martin Kelleher, Managing Director at SuperValu, said that shoppers “are continuing to vote with their feet”.
“We are continuing our effort to drive down the average cost of the grocery basket, with consumers switching to the SuperValu Own Brand range. SuperValu shoppers are happy to make the switch because they see it allows them to save on price without compromising on quality,” Kelleher added.
Mark Thomson, business unit director at Kantar Worldpanel, described the growth at Aldi and Lidl as “outstanding”.
While both retailers have increased their number of new customers, they are experiencing growth mainly as a result of their existing customers spending more.
The average Aldi shopper in Ireland spent €161 over the latest period; up €15.60 compared with this time last year.
This period’s sales growth comes amid falling inflation, down from 2.6% to 2.3%.
“Footfall is increasing for all the large retailers at a time when customers aren’t wedded to a particular grocer week by week. The opportunity for Tesco and Dunnes lies around encouraging shoppers to spend more per shopping trip, which is something that Aldi and Lidl are already doing successfully,” Thomson said.
Originally posted: 12.50pm
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say