Supermarket grocery prices unchanged as sales fall on reopening of restaurants  

Online sales, which Kantar described as a barometer during the pandemic, also fell sharply, as households became more confident about buying in-store.  

Irish grocery prices were unchanged in recent weeks as sales at supermarkets slowed following the opening up of restaurants. 

That is the main finding from the latest survey by market researcher Kantar that showed grocery price at zero [rise] as grocery sales in the 12 weeks to August 8 amounted to over €2.8bn, down almost 4% from a year earlier.        

Supermarkets — including the big five of SuperValu, Tesco, Dunnes, Lidl, and Aldi that dominate the €13bn annual grocery market — have been among the retail winners since the start of the pandemic in March last year, in both in-store and online sales.

There is now clear evidence that some of the huge pandemic-driven boom is waning.                         

Kantar surveys 30,000 grocery items on a regular basis and its findings reflect what has happened in other countries as restrictions on dining out and travel have lifted.   

The zero inflation for groceries comes despite the huge global supply chain shortages facing many manufacturers across a wide range of businesses.    

It suggests that for the time being at least that grocery prices have not been rising sharply. 

The fall in sales was softened somewhat by people holidaying at home

Sales fell nonetheless "as life continued to edge back to normal in Ireland and indoor dining in restaurants, pubs and cafés returned for people who are double vaccinated", Kantar said.   

Sales of tea and coffee posted some of the sharpest declines, providing signs that pandemic stock buying is easing. 

Online sales, which Kantar described as a barometer during the pandemic, also fell sharply, as households became more confident about buying in-store.  

Sales figures are still significantly higher than in the same period in 2019 which shows that grocery sales are still running close to record levels. 

"Grocery market growth dipped slightly this month, but it’s important to put that in perspective and remember that we are comparing sales against the peak of Covid-19 restrictions last year," said Kantar retail analyst Emer Healy.  

"Irish shoppers still spent a massive €333.2m more on take-home groceries than during this same period in 2019. That represents double-digit growth of 13.4% in two years,” Ms Healy said. 

On the decline in online sales, she said that many grocery shoppers have not abandoned digital.   

People are buying less but it’s worth noting that the number of people making an online order has actually held steady at 14% compared with last year 

"It looks like customers who were converted to digital in lockdown have enjoyed the convenience and service they’ve received and are sticking with it longer term,” Ms Healy said. 

The big five supermarkets secured 90.5% of all sales in the period.         

At 22.6%, SuperValu secured the largest share of the €2.53bn spent in the latest 12 weeks covered by the survey.

It was followed by Tesco and Dunnes with market shares of 21.3% and 20.9%, respectively. 

Lidl and Aldi secured 13% and 12.6% shares of the €2.53bn spend respectively.