THE IRISH GROCERY market has fallen back into decline after four months of modest growth, according to figures published by a leading market researcher.

Falling inflation is positive news for shoppers, but it has also resulted the sector declining by 0.5 per cent on the same period last year, according to Kantar Worldpanel.

David Berry, commercial director at Kantar, explained that over the past year any growth seen in the sector had been driven by an inflation rate of about 3.8 per cent.

“As competition between the main retailers has continued the level of inflation has dropped back over the past four months, with the latest figures showing price inflation of just 1.9 per cent,” he said. “Although a lower rate of price inflation is good news for shoppers, there is no immediate sign that this is changing their current shopping behaviour.”

As shoppers continue to look for the best deals, many are turning to own label products – which in turn is placing pressure on branded items, according to Kantar. Such items have seen a drop in market share from 54.1 per cent to 52.9 per cent over the past year.

However, some major retailers saw strengthened performance, with SuperValu lifting its share from 19.7 per cent to 20 per cent. The group has cited a launch of a “comprehensive” own label range for the change.

Meanwhile, Aldi continues to post the strongest growth with sales increasing by just over 20 per cent in the past year.

Tesco and Lidl also continue to out-perform the market, according to Kantar.