Grocery spending hits six-year high

SuperValu maintained its leading position in the Irish grocery market over the crucial Christmas period as the sector benefited from its strongest sales increase in six years.

New data from leading consumer insights agency Kantar Worldpanel covering the 12 weeks to January 3 shows the Irish grocery market grew by 3.5%.

This was the strongest performance in that period since January 2009.

“Christmas is the most important time of the year for grocery retailers and this year proved no different,” according to Kantar Worldpanel director David Berry.

“The past 12 weeks are the first time since March 2013 all five of the major supermarkets in Ireland have grown sales.

"Shoppers spent an additional €77m on groceries compared with the same time last year; with confectionery, crisps and other snacks doing particularly well.”

However, Mr Berry said the latest data does not just indicate a festive spike, but hints at a longer-term pick-up in sales.

“It wasn’t just party food that boosted sales,” he said.

Latest @KWP_IE's GroceryMS fig:
SuperValu 25.1%
Tesco 24.6%
Dunnes 24%
Lidl 8%
Aldi 7.9%https://t.co/tkuaTNbmWF pic.twitter.com/Iig8E4VB9H

— Kantar UK & Ireland (@Kantar_UKI) January 18, 2016

“Shoppers also spent more on staple items such as fruit, vegetables and eggs.

"This is a clear sign of increased consumer confidence as shoppers worry less about what they’re spending.”

SuperValu now commands a 25.1% share of the market, up from 24.7% in the preceding three month period and 0.5 percentage points ahead of second placed Tesco.

SuperValu has seen a marked acceleration in sales growth in recent months, with that trend reaching 4.3% in the most recent 12- week period under review.

Over the Christmas period the retailer secured additional trips from a larger customer base, resulting in a 6.5% increase in the number of transactions in store.

Tesco now has a market share of 24.6%, up by 0.5 percentage points on the preceding quarter but down by 0.8 percentage points on an annualised basis.

However, Tesco saw a return to an increase in over-the-counter sales, with a 0.1% rise recorded.

“This is a notable improvement on results for October and November, suggesting things are looking up for the retailer,” said Mr Berry.

Dunnes, meanwhile, improved its year-on-year market share by 0.5 percentage points to 24% as its ‘shop and save’ voucher campaign continues to reap dividends.

Dunnes’ grocery sales among households with more than four people have grown by 11% in the last year on the back of this offer.

For the second consecutive quarter, Lidl outperformed the market with 11.6% sales growth at the tills boosting its share of the market from 7.4% to 8% on an annualised basis.