Shoppers 'squeezed' as Irish grocery inflation rises to 6.7%

Pinched Irish shoppers continue to feel the price squeeze as grocery price inflation jumped to 6.7% in the first quarter of the year, new data published on Tuesday showed.

Pinched Irish shoppers continue to feel the price squeeze as grocery price inflation jumped to 6.7% in the past three months, new data published on Tuesday showed.

The figure comes in the latest grocery market share data for Ireland compiled by Worldpanel by Numerator, which measures over 30,000 identical products compared year-on-year in a survey. 

Irish grocery price inflation had stood at 6.5% over the 12 weeks to March 22. 

“Consumer uncertainty due to global events has sparked a sense of caution among shoppers, who are demonstrating signs of making more considered purchasing decisions as discretionary spend is squeezed by rising fuel prices at the pumps," said Emer Healy, business development director at Worldpanel by Numerator.

Dunnes Stores continues to edge its rivals in the battle for shoppers, with 24.1% share of the Irish grocery market in the latest survey.  Over the latest 12 weeks of the year, Dunnes holds 24.1% market share, with sales growth of 4.8% year on year.  

Tesco holds 24% of the market, with year-on-year growth of 7.4%.  SuperValu holds 19.4% of the market with growth of 0.3%. 

Lidl enjoyed the biggest market surge and now holds 14.4% market share, up 11.4%. It drove an additional combined €38.9m in sales. Aldi holds 10.9% market share.

Online sales rose 9.7% year on year, with shoppers spending an additional €22m through the channel. More than one in five Irish households now buy groceries online.

Loyalty cards are one of the main ways shoppers are attempting to manage spend, with 73% claiming to use such schemes. “While promotions clearly played a key role in helping households stretch budgets ahead of Easter, we still saw shoppers trade up for the occasions that mattered most. Easter baskets became a space for premium choices, suggesting that shoppers are still willing to spend that little bit more to make key moments feel special, despite the economic backdrop," said Ms Healy. 

More than €15m was spent on Easter eggs alone in the seven days to Easter Sunday. However, lamb sales were down 31% year on year, though 20% of Irish households did purchase lamb over the Easter month.