Irish grocery spend is climbing down from record-breaking lockdown heights

Shoppers spent €930 million over the last four weeks on groceries

With restrictions on movement and eating out lifting, grocery spend is climbing down from the record-breaking heights. File Picture.

Grocery sales growth in Ireland has fallen to its lowest level since February as the country eases out of lockdown but still remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Growth slowed to 18% year on year during the 12 weeks to August 9 with shoppers spending €930 million over the last four weeks.

"With restrictions on movement and eating out lifting, grocery spend is climbing down from the record-breaking heights we saw in previous months," said Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar who compiled the data. "A year-on-year comparison shows that shoppers still visited stores four fewer times over the 12 weeks, but trends are less stark than they were at the peak of lockdown.

The growth in online grocery shopping also continued increasing by 125%. Online sales now accounts for 4.6% of grocery sales in Ireland.

After months of strong growth, take-home alcohol sales have begun to taper. “Alcohol sales are up by 56% over the past 12 weeks, but this represents a significant slowdown from the 76% growth rate we saw last month, as people get used to new rules and are more inclined to socialise out of home," Ms Healy said.

All of Ireland’s traditional retailers registered growth over the latest 12 weeks. Buoyed by their online offers, SuperValu continues to hold the highest market share at 22.3% and Tesco took second place at 21.1%. SuperValu remains the only retailer to attract new shoppers this period, contributing an additional €624,000 to its growth. Bigger baskets, with volumes up 25%, and higher average prices drove growth for Tesco this month.