Bargain retailers benefit from Euro 2016 grocery boost

A spike in alcohol and snack food purchases prompted by Ireland’s involvement in Euro 2016 boosted midsummer grocery sales, but the threat of a return to cross-border shopping as sterling weakens has persisted, new data shows.

Latest figures from consumer insights agency Kantar Worldpanel covering the 12 weeks to July 17 show a 3.3% annualised increase in grocery sales in the Republic.

Market leader SuperValu; along with Dunnes, Lidl and Aldi saw their till sales increase ahead of the market, with only Tesco seeing a decline (-1.9%) in sales.