Annual grocery price inflation drops to 3.7%

Take-home grocery sales increased by 4.5% in the four weeks to March 17 with the total spend reaching €1.1bn. Shoppers spent an additional €47.8m on take-home groceries versus the same time last year due largely to inflation. 

Irish grocery price inflation fell to 3.7% in the 12 weeks to March 17 hitting the lowest levels in two years, new data from market research firm Kantar shows.

This represents a massive drop from the 16% grocery price inflation recorded in March 2023, but it is still above the general rate of inflation. Grocery price inflation in February was running at 4.7%.

According to Kantar, take-home grocery sales increased by 4.5% in the four weeks to March 17 with the total spend reaching €1.1bn. Shoppers spent an additional €47.8m on take-home groceries versus the same time last year.

Although spending is up compared to last year, inflation remains the main driver of this.

Business development director at Kantar, Emer Healy, noted that this is the 11th month in a row where there has been a drop in the inflation rate.

“While it’s the lowest inflation level we have seen for two years, shoppers in Ireland are still on the hunt for value with over 25% of value sales coming from promotions,” she said.

With Easter occurring earlier this year, nearly half of Irish households had purchased Easter eggs by March 17. Shoppers spent €24.6m on Easter Eggs which was an additional €9.3 million versus last year. However, many also opted for other popular Easter staples with €1.1m spent on hot cross buns.

Retailers have really been pushing promotional sales during Easter with over 51% of value sales of Easter eggs sold on promotion.

Alongside promotions, retailers are also placing an emphasis on their own-label lines to get shoppers through the doors. Sales of own-label performed strongly, growing ahead of the total market at 5.5% year-on-year and holding a value share of 48%, with shoppers spending an additional €80.5m year-on-year.

Premium own-label ranges continued to perform well with shoppers spending an additional €172m on these lines, an increase of 12.3% compared to this time last year. Brands also saw growth of 3.8% over the 12 weeks. 

Online sales were up 16.7% year-on-year with shoppers spending an additional €26.5m online year-on-year.

Dunnes Stores retains the highest share of consumer spending on groceries at 24% while Tesco stands at 22.8% and SuperValu at 20.4%. Lidl holds 13.5% share while Aldi holds 11.5% market share.