A SWELTERING HEATWAVE and holidays at home have led to an increase in spending on fizzy drinks, savoury snacks, burgers and grilled meat.
With the mercury reaching over 30 degrees this summer, sales of fizzy drinks have increased by €7.7 million for the twelve weeks to 8 August. Irish shoppers also spent an extra €660,000 on savoury snacks and an additional €579,000 on chilled burgers and grilled meats.
Sales of coffee and tea both fell by 8% as indoor hospitality reopened and some workers returned to their offices.
Kantar has released its latest grocery figures for the period ending 8 August. The twelve weeks to 8 August saw a 3.9% decline in sales, as indoor hospitality reopened for those who were fully vaccinated.
Kantar retail analyst Emer Healy says: “People are enjoying getting out and about again – meeting up with friends and returning to their favourite restaurants – and that means they don’t need to buy as much food to eat at home”.
“Some of the best-selling categories during the Covid-19 lockdowns are now seeing the biggest sales drops. Sales of tea and coffee both fell by 8% as people have gradually got back to offices and can enjoy taking a break in coffee shops once again.”
A heatwave also prompted many people to fire up their barbecue and splash out on refreshing drinks. This led to an additional €7.7 million being spent on fizzy drinks as well as an extra €579,000 on chilled burgers and grilled meats and grills.
“The impact of the reopening of hospitality has been balanced slightly by a boom in staycations this summer. Instead of jetting overseas, many families have been packing up the car and heading to holiday rentals closer home,” Healy said.
“While the overall market is in decline, shoppers spent €7.7 million more on soft drinks, €664,000 more on savoury snacks, and €579,000 extra on chilled burgers and grilling meats as they made the most of the summer holidays and the August Bank Holiday,” she added.
The Kantar Worldpanel supermarket shares show that SuperValu has maintained its position as Ireland’s most popular supermarket with a 22.6% market share. This represents a 2.9% decline since last year.
Consumers make frequent trips to SuperValu. On average shoppers took 21.1 trips in the latest 12 weeks which was the highest frequency amongst all retailers.
Tesco is currently the nation’s second largest retailer, with 21.3% of the market. Dunnes fell by 1.8% to hold a 20.9% share.
Lidl makes up 13.0% of the market share, slightly ahead of Aldi on 12.6%.
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