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GROCERY SALES IN Ireland increased by 10% in the four weeks before Christmas and visits to shops rose by 7% compared to the same period of 2021, according to the latest figures by research group Kantar.
The first Christmas since 2019 without Covid-19 restrictions saw shoppers spend an additional €119 million, making it a record-breaking month with sales of €1.3 billion, and the strongest growth since February 2021.
However, grocery price inflation stood at 15.4% for the last three months of 2022, the highest level yet.
Shoppers spent an additional €95.31 compared to the same quarter in 2021, and the volume of sales was actually down 4% despite the record-breaking revenue.
Households also stocked up on cold and flu products as respiratory illnesses began doing the rounds in late December.
Shoppers spent an average of €205,000 per week on cold treatments in December, and over €130,000 on vitamins.
This is more than double the weekly average for cold treatments in December 2021, which was €100,000 a week.
Senior retail analyst at Kantar, Emer Healy, stated:
“Christmas was certainly different this year. Even though 46.5% of buyers claimed they would spend less than previous years, the cost-of-living crisis didn’t stop Irish families from looking for ways to keep spirits high, with the average shopper spending €58 more on groceries during December than they did last year.”
“Nearly half of the population stocked up on festive treats on Friday 23 December, the busiest shopping day of the year, with €94.4 million going through the tills. This was €8.6 million more than the busiest trading day last year (also 23 December).”
A change in attitude towards Covid-19 following the pandemic has also changed shopping habits and is reflected in today’s data, Healy explained.
“Smaller Christmas gatherings in 2020 and 2021 led to more households opting for rolled turkey, but this year 25,000 more households tucked into whole turkeys, reflecting the 32% of buyers that planned on having 5-7 people for Christmas dinner,” she said.
“A restriction- free Christmas also meant that more people were hosting others and cleaning their homes, resulting in shoppers spending an additional €6.8 million on household and cleaning products.”
In December Dunnes Stores continued to hold its place as the most popular chain for grocery shopping at 23.7% of the market share with growth of 9.6% year-on-year.
Tesco was close behind at 23%, followed by Supervalu with 22%, Lidl with 12% and Aldi at 11%.
Online sales remained strong last month, up 8.5% year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional €4.7 million.
Online shopping now sits at 4.6% of the grocery market, up 2.5% points compared to December 2018, but the impact of inflation is evident as the average cost of a virtual shop is now €88.79, up €11.70 compared to 2018.
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The media has a a vitally important democratic function to perform in making Trump and his current administration fully visible.
Media exposure will highlight what Trump is about.
@Johnny Leddin: only Trump worries about thumbs. It is his downfall.
@Tony Daly: like they did with clinton…right…
Exactly like Clinton. He was hounded by the media after his affair in office.
The media should be treated with contempt!
What do reporters think the new administration is playing at?…to me it seems like some sort of Bond plot where the obvious is a diversion to what is really going on…there are bigger things cooking in the background which they don’t want us to know about.
@winston smith: the focus is on Trump’s temperament at the moment and the increasing realisation that Trump is temperamentally unsuitable to be President of the US.
@Tony Daly: is that a fact or just your anti trump opinion….
Trump won because of a fawning uncritical ratings-driven media which gave him billions in free publicity.
@Were Jammin: he won because hillary took her eye of the ball and wouldn’t listen to the fears many people have in the US regarding immigration..she just called them all deplorables. That is a fact
@Were Jammin: he won because hillary took her eye of the ball and wouldn’t listen to the fears many people have in the US regarding immigration..she just called them all deplorables. That is a fact
@Were Jammin: Trump won because the media were uncritical of him – are you on drugs?
The media is ‘temperamentally unsuitable’ to cover the White House.
What’s most fascinating about this article is the constant use of “said one reporter” for even the most mundane observation. Did The Journal not get their names, or did the reporters insist on strict anonymity for reasons beyond my ken; or, more troublingly, does The Journal imagine itself a Player in DC political media who needs to keep their “sources” secret lest Trump’s team read this article?
The Media is frantically trying to do an about-face. From the time “President” nominated, they fawned over him because he gave them lots of meat and potatoes, encouraged by Murdoch, Kochs etc… Then, against all the pundits and odds, he became POTUS. 60+ days in, and the media are looking at themselves in horror, that they facilitated this Con Man get the Oval Office. Now, they’re falling over themselves to get him and his misbegotten, incompetent hangers-on out. There is enough blame to go around, so the media have now to start doing things right.
Surprised the Journal was allowed in.
You cannot hope to bribe or twist – thank God! – the average journalist…
have your say