DUNNES STORES HAS regained its position as Ireland’s most popular supermarket, while Aldi has hit a record market share in the most recent period.

The latest Kantar Worldpanel supermarket shares show that Dunnes Stores accounted for 22.1% of the consumer spend over the course of the 12 weeks to 7 October 2018, making it the country’s most popular supermarket. 

After six consecutive periods at the top, Tesco has fallen back to second place, accounting for 21.5% of total grocery sales. 

Meanwhile, SuperValu came in third position with a 21.4% of the market share. 

While SuperValu, whose owner Musgrave recently acquired high-end Dublin-based grocer Donnybrook Fair, Kantar Worldpanel noted that the retailer still under trades in the capital. 

“Although SuperValu holds 26% of the share in its Munster heartland, the retailer is less represented in Dublin, where it only accounts for 19.4% of sales,” Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, said. 

“By contrast, Tesco and Dunnes perform more strongly in the capital, with shares of 23.6% and 26.1% respectively. Musgrave will be hoping its latest acquisition can help SuperValu make up ground in this area.” 

Kantar Worldpanel Kantar Worldpanel

Bargain supermarkets Aldi and Lidl took fourth and fifth place again this month with 11.8% and 11.7% of the consumer spend, respectively. 

A sale growth of 4.5% has helped Aldi to achieve a record market share this period. 

Kantar Worldpanel noted that the retailer’s Swap and Save campaign, which challenges shoppers to see how much they could save by switching to Aldi, has made an impact. 

Festive period

Faughnan noted that Dunnes traditionally performs strongly over the festive period. 

“The retailer may feel like Christmas has come early this year,” Faughnan said. 

“While it’s too soon to assess the full impact of its new Everyday Savers offer, which prices many own brand everyday items at a euro or less, Dunnes’ continued focus on shopper campaigns has helped to attract an extra 14,000 shoppers this period.”