Shoppers spend extra €30m in heatwave

The summer heatwave proved a boon for supermarkets as figures show shoppers snapped up greater quantities of barbecue food — particularly sausages.

Figures for the 12 weeks to Aug 18 show an extra €30m was spent in shops over the summer compared to the same period last year, including an additional €2m on sausages.

The figures from the Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland show that a 12% increase in spending on sausages helped boost overall sales, with barbecue items, ice creams, and cider sales all increasing as the country enjoyed a hot summer.