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Average grocery spend sinks to lowest since 2005

The average spend by Irish shoppers on a visit to their local grocery store or supermarket has fallen to its lowest level in seven years.

New data on consumer spending has revealed that just €21.30 is spent on the average shopping trip in the Republic — the lowest level since 2005.




The survey, by consumer research firm, Kantar Worldpanel, claimed the latest findings were evidence of shoppers adopting a “little and often” approach to grocery spending.

It claimed the results were evidence of shoppers tightening their belts in anticipation of the budget in December. The grocery market in Ireland has already fallen by 0.6% in the past year — a trend attributable to price inflation running at 2.3%, which has resulted in many basic food items becoming more expensive.

However, the figures also show that several of the large supermarket groups have grown in a declining market at the expense of smaller retailers like Spar and Centra.

Tesco extended its position slightly as the market leader with a 28.7% share of the sector followed by Dunnes (21.4%) and Super Valu (19.6%).

German discount groups Aldi and Lidl now account for a combined market share of 12.6%, while Superquinn’s share has dropped to 5.6%.

Other outlets, which include M&S, Boots, and smaller chains such as Spar, Centra, and Londis, account for 12.2% of the total.

Kantar Worldpanel commercial director, David Berry, said shoppers were becoming careful about their household spending over fears of the content of December’s budget.

He said the average shopping basket spend had now fallen to €21.30 from €22.50 last year — a reduction of 5.3%.

“Shoppers are reducing their spending by adopting a ‘little and often’ approach to shopping trips, which is helping them to limit wastage as they only buy what they need when they need it,” said Mr Berry.

Commenting on the figures, Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) said the trend of lower consumer spending on groceries was “not a huge surprise”.

“Consumer sentiment is not good due to ongoing speculation regarding the upcoming budget,” said REI chief executive, David Fitzsimons.

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