The cost of buying groceries in Ireland has soared by more than 15 per cent over the last year, with the rate of inflation in Irish supermarkets now at the highest level ever recorded by retail analysts Kantar.
Despite the dramatic price increases, Irish shoppers spent like never before in the run-up to Christmas, with grocery sales hitting a record-breaking €1.3 billion.
According to Kantar, take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 10 per cent in the four weeks to December 25th, 2022, with visits to stores climbing by 7 per cent.
The first Christmas since 2019 with no Covid-19 restrictions saw shoppers spend an additional €119 million, making it a record-breaking month with sales of €1.3 billion, and the strongest growth since February 2021.
Grocery inflation now stands at 15.4 per cent for the 12-week period ending December 25th, the highest level yet and even higher than in the UK, which stands at 14.2 per cent.
A significant increase in average price per pack saw shoppers spend an additional €95.31 compared to the same time last year. But while value sales were up 6.7 per cent, grocery price inflation is the real driving factor behind this rather than increased purchasing, as volumes fell by 4 per cent.
“Christmas was certainly different this year. Even though 46.5 per cent of buyers claimed they would spend less than previous years, the cost-of-living crisis didn’t stop Irish families from looking for ways to keep spirits high, with the average shopper spending €58 more on groceries during December than they did last year,” said Kantar’s senior retail analyst Emer Healy.
Nearly half of the population stocked up on festive treats on Friday December 23rd, the busiest shopping day of the year, with €94.4 million going through the tills. This was €8.6 million more than the busiest trading day last year, also December 23rd. Sales of festive treats such as chocolate, cheese and pâté rose by 9.9 per cent and mince pies by 15.5 per cent while simultaneously all declining in volume.
Wine bucked the trend, with shoppers spending an additional €13.3m year on year with strong volume growth of 7.3 per cent.
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Smaller Christmas gatherings in 2020 and 2021 led to more households opting for rolled turkey, but this year 25,000 more households tucked into whole turkeys, reflecting the 32 per cent of buyers who planned on having between five and seven people for Christmas dinner.
During December, sales of cold and flu products, as well as household cleaners, also grew as Irish shoppers spent an additional €828,000 on cold treatments and €547,000 on vitamins.
A restriction-free Christmas also meant that more people were hosting others and cleaning their homes, resulting in shoppers spending an additional €6.8 million on household and cleaning products.
In December, online sales remained strong, up 8.5 per cent year on year, with shoppers spending an additional €4.7 million. Online share now sits at 4.6 per cent, up 2.5 percentage points compared to December 2018, but the impact of inflation is evident as the average cost of a virtual basket is now €88.79, up €11.70 compared to 2018.
Dunnes Stores continues to hold the highest share among all retailers at 23.7 per cent with growth of 9.6 per cent year on year.
Dunnes had the strongest growth in retailer premium own-label offerings, up 22 per cent year on year. Tesco holds 23 per cent of the market with growth of 8.9 per cent year on year, and had the strongest frequency growth among all retailers of 10.6 per cent year on year.
SuperValu has 21 per cent of the market and growth of 1.2 per cent, registering the highest number of trips to stores at 21. Lidl holds 12.2 per cent share with the strongest growth among all retailers of 10.1 per cent year on year.
It also saw the strongest growth of value own-label sales, up 47.2 per cent year on year. Aldi has 11.6 per cent of the market, growing 7.1 per cent year on year.
