Average family's annual grocery bill could go up by €453
Grocery prices in Ireland have jumped by 6.5%, the highest rise in almost 10 years adding further pressures to household incomes already dealing with soaring energy and transport bills.
According to supermarket analysts Kantar, the recent price rises could add €453 to the average annual grocery bill, a figure over €100 higher than predicted just a month ago.
Grocery prices in Ireland have jumped by 6.5%, the highest rise in almost 10 years adding further pressures to household incomes already dealing with soaring energy and transport bills. They said some of the sharpest price increases were amongst essential items such as butter, eggs, bread and flour.
"Food and drink prices are on a steady upwards trajectory and many people will be feeling understandably worried about the rising cost of living," Emer Healy, senior retail analyst at Kantar said.
The analysis also shows that shoppers are taking additional steps to manage their spending at supermarkets, making three fewer trips to the store on average per month than they were this time last year.
“Unsurprisingly, 53% of the consumers we spoke to said that they will be actively seeking out any deals and discounts in-store because of inflation. This is clear in the shifting balance between brands and private labels, where 66% said that they would swap the branded product in their trolley if a private-label item was cheaper," Ms Healy said.
"We expect this trend to continue over the next 12 months, and those retailers offering good value, own-label products and promotions will be the most successful in attracting and retaining customers.”
Dunnes and Tesco, the retailers with the strongest performance this period, have seen €8.2m more spent between them on their private label lines. Dunnes’ consistently strong performance has now pushed into the seventh consecutive period this year. The retailer is now tied for first place with Tesco – both holding a 22.1% share of the market.
Despite rising prices, everyone was keen to make the most of the June bank holiday and are looking ahead to a lockdown-free summer.
“Unlike the Covid-19 restrictions of last summer, we’re all busy preparing for our holidays abroad (or even being extra optimistic about the Irish sunshine) and sun cream sales have shot up by 36% compared with May as a result," Ms Healy said.
For instance, the combination of a bank holiday weekend and the start of barbecue season meant shoppers spent an additional €575,000 more on burgers and grilling food this month than they did in May, and ice cream has also seen an extra €2.4m heading through the tills.
"Sales of savoury snacks and carbonated soft drinks, popular at any social occasion, are performing well with sales up by €1.2m and €930,000 respectively compared to the same four-week period in June 2021.”
The online grocery market also grew by 9.3% in June.
Tesco’s share grew 0.6 percentage points this period. The retailer’s strong performance was helped by a 10% boost in online sales during the month of June, with shoppers spending an additional €2.9m.
SuperValu now holds 21.7% of the market. Lidl and Aldi follow behind, each accounting for 13.2% and 12.3%.
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