IRISH SHOPPERS SPENT more than €1 billion in the grocery aisles last month, as supermarkets received a boost ahead of the busy festive season. 

According to analysis from Kantar, an extra €164 million was spent in Irish supermarkets in November 2020 compared to the same month last year.

Alcohol sales rose by 33%, sales of Christmas biscuits rose by €793,000 while sales of mince pies rose by an additional €82,000 last month. 

It coincided with the Level 5 lockdown where pubs and restaurants were closed. 

Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar, said: “November was the busiest month for the grocers since the height of the previous national lockdown in June.

“Beyond the seasonal snack aisles, roast dinners were the order of the day and sales of beef grew by 19% while shoppers also spent an extra €12.2 million on vegetables over the past month.”

It’s also a good time for branded products, which have increased sales over the last 12 weeks by 18.6% across the market. They’ve proved particularly popular with Aldi and Lidl customers, rising by 32% and 52% respectively. 

Lidl had the strongest growth across supermarkets during this period at 24.4% with its market share up 0.8% to 12.5%. Aldi saw its sales increase 14% to achieve a 12% market share. 

Dunnes Stores held the biggest share of the market at 22.1% during this period. Supervalu was next on 22% and Tesco at 21.5%. 

Each of these supermarkets also had an increase over 10% in the value of their sales for this period.