Grocery prices are now climbing much faster than they were this time last year with fresh data from retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel suggesting that inflation in Irish supermarkets currently stands at just over 4.5 per cent.
The latest figure compared to a rate of less than 3 per cent in June of last year with the spike in prices leading to a slowdown in sales recorded in recent weeks.
Take-home sales in Ireland increased by 3.4 per cent in value over the four weeks to March 23rd compared to the same period last year, according to the latest grocery data.
It is the slowest market growth rate since November 2022, despite Irish shoppers enjoying St Patrick’s Day celebrations and Shrove Tuesday in March. The average volume per trip also continued to fall by 2.9 per cent in March as shoppers preferred to shop little and often.
The latest data from Kantar puts grocery price inflation at 4.52 per cent, up 1.16 percentage points compared to the same 12-week period last year.
“The continued rise in average prices – up 3.8 per cent year-on-year – is contributing to a slowdown in sales, having a marked impact on consumer habits,” said Kantar’s business development director Emer Healy. “With a combination of higher grocery prices and rising household costs, supermarkets are focusing on promotions to attract shoppers both in-store and online,” she added.
Promotional sales increased in the latest 12 weeks with shoppers spending an additional €99 million on promotional lines compared to the same period last year. Promotional sales currently hold 23 per cent of total grocery spending compared to just 19 per cent during the same time last year.
Alongside promotional activities, retailers are pushing own label products as an alternative to brands.
Own label sales have jumped 4.5 per cent compared to last year with shoppers spending an additional €71.9 million on these ranges, accounting for 47.6 per cent of all value sales.
However, brands also remain popular with Irish shoppers, also growing 4.5 per cent compared to the same period last year and representing 47 per cent of the total value market share.
Despite a late Easter this year, St Patrick’s Day and Shrove Tuesday helped boost seasonal sales in Ireland. Shoppers spent an additional €6.8 million on beer, spirits and wine combined, along with an extra €590,000 on hot cross buns, pancakes, sugar and sweet spreads, compared to last year.
Sales of fish were also up as shoppers spent an additional €930,000 on fresh fish and ready meals combined.
“It seems that this year’s late Easter is prompting shoppers to delay the temptation to buy Easter eggs too early,” adds Emer Healy.
“Irish shoppers spent €7.5 million less on Easter eggs in March compared to last year. But when we compare February 2025 with March 2025, we can see a significant increase in sales of €18.4 million. This is the same for total chocolate confectionery with year-on-year sales down 12.3 per cent, but month-on-month spending up an additional €20 million.”
Online sales rose 10.8 per cent year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional €20.8 million over the internet.
Over the latest 12 weeks, Dunnes Stores holds 24.4 per cent market share, with sales growth of 6 per cent. Tesco holds 23.2 per cent of the market, with value growth of 6 per cent year-on-year. SuperValu holds 20.2 per cent of the market with growth of 5.4 per cent.
Lidl holds 13.5 per cent market share up 4.7 per cent while Aldi is on 11.6 per cent market share, up 4.9 per cent.
