The annual rate at which grocery prices have been increasing in the Republic has steadied at less than 3 per cent over the 12 weeks to the beginning of this month, fresh data from retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel suggests.
The current rate of 2.8 per cent is dramatically lower than it was at the height of the cost-of-living crisis when it was close to 17 per cent, and represents a fall of 8.5 percentage points when compared with the same period last year, though it is slightly up on the 2.5 per cent rate recorded earlier in the summer.
The data also suggest Irish people have been spending more in supermarkets in advance of the back-to-school period, with take-home grocery sales 5.4 per cent stronger in the four weeks to September 1st.
“As summer comes to an end many shoppers prepared for the back-to-school routine, with more packed lunches and after-school meals to prepare,” said Kantar Worldpanel’s business development director Emer Healy.
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Spending on biscuits, cheese and bread climbed sharply as shoppers also turning to quick meal options, with sending on chilled convenience foods up compared to August.
Ms Healy said shoppers were continuing to “take advantage of promotional offers from retailers, with spending on promotions up 9.6 per cent compared to this time last year”.
People are also being drawn to retailers’ own-label ranges, with the sale of own-label products up 4.5 per cent year-on-year and commanding a value share of 47 per cent, with shoppers spending an additional €66.8 million year-on-year on these ranges.
Premium ranges also continued to do well, with shoppers spending an additional €14.2 million on these lines, up 10.2 per cent compared to this time last year.
However, with the big retailers heavily promoting brands in their recent advertising campaigns, branded goods outpaced total market growth, increasing by 8.4 per cent, with shoppers spending an additional €121 million compared to last year.
Over 60 per cent of branded products were purchased on some form of promotion, a 9.8 per cent rise from the same period last year.
Online sales were up 10.7 per cent, with shoppers spending an extra €18.2 million year-on-year in that channel.
When it comes to the store wars Dunnes holds 23.6 per cent market share, with growth of 9.4 per cent year-on-year, just in advance of Tesco’s 23.5 per cent share, a figure that is 10.4 per cent up year-on-year. The two were level-pegging at 22.6 per cent in last month’s report.
Supervalu’s tough year has continued with its market share currently on 19.9 per cent, down one percentage point on the month. Lidl is comfortably winning the battle of the discounters with market share of 13.7 per cent and growth of 6.9 per cent compared to Aldi’s 11.8 per cent market share and growth of 1 per cent year-on-year.
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