Take-home sales at the grocers increased by 6.4% over the four weeks to 3 November 2024 to reach €1.16 billion, making this the biggest sales month of the year so far, according to the latest data from Kantar. Grocery inflation stands at 3.3%, which is down 6.15ppts versus the same time last year.
Irish households shopped more often in October, up 2.6% compared to last year, stocking up for Halloween, the bank holiday ahead of the school mid-term break and Christmas, leading to a 5.4% overall increase in volume sales. While pumpkin sales increased by 4.5% (€63k), sales of brussels sprouts surged by 43% as shoppers spent an additional €149k on this traditional holiday staple.
Eimear Faughnan, Head of Retail at Kantar, explains: “October was an important month for Irish shoppers as they prepared for the first school holiday of the new term and Halloween, enjoying above-average temperatures that delayed the need to don winter woollies. Shoppers stocked up on Halloween treats, spending a ‘frightening’ €8.9 million more than last year on chocolate confectionery. €2.4 million on savoury snacks and €1.6 million on sweets.
But it’s clear that Irish households are also preparing for the holiday season. Shoppers spent an additional combined €774k on flour, fruits & nuts, icing & cake mixes as they ready their Christmas cakes.”
Over the latest 12-week period, shoppers took advantage of promotions spending an additional €40 million on deals compared to the previous period. The share of products sold on promotion sits at 18.5%. Branded products outperformed own label for the third consecutive 12-week period, resulting in a 2.6 percentage-point gap, as shoppers boosted branded value sales by 7%.
Online sales rose by 11.8% year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional €21.5 million through this channel. Over the latest 12-week period, the number of online shopping trips increased by 16.5%, adding €29 million to the channel.
Dunnes and Tesco Lead in Retailer Market Share
Dunnes holds 24.5% market share, with sales growth of 9% year-on-year as shoppers increased their number of trips by 7.3% contributing an additional €55.9 million to overall performance.
Tesco holds 23.4% of the market, with value growth of 9.6% year-on-year, as shoppers increased their trips to store by 6.7%.
SuperValu holds 19.7% of the market and saw growth of 2.3%. Consumers made the most shopping trips to this grocer, averaging 24.4 trips over the latest 12 weeks. The increased number of shopping trips and additional items picked up per trip contributed €28.8 million to its performance.
Lidl experienced a growth of 6.3%, capturing a 13.5% share of total spending. Increased store visits and higher volume per trip contributed to an additional €26.3 million in sales compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, Aldi grew by 1.2%, securing an 11.5% market share, with increased store visits driving an additional €16.4 million in sales.
