St Patrick’s day prompts consumers to go the full Irish - Kantar

Two-thirds of the Republic’s population picked up either fresh sausages, bacon rashers or black and white pudding over the St Patrick’s day bank holiday as grocery stores ramped up promotional activity focusing on the provenance of Irish breakfast staples.

Despite Easter falling later this year than last, and the absence of the extreme weather from 2018 which provided an unexpected boost, market growth in the grocery sector was only marginally slower than 12 months ago according to Kantar, a data and insights company.

The St Patrick’s day bank holiday and pre-Easter promotional activity has helped the performance in the 12 weeks to March 24th, a period that also saw alcohol sales hit their highest point since the new year.

"If the early evidence is anything to go on, spring 2019 could be a bumper period for the Irish grocery market," said Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar.

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“The late Easter hasn’t stopped retailers promoting seasonal favourites - the holiday weekend is still two weeks away but already over half of Irish households have stocked up on Easter eggs.”

He added that multibuy offers to encourage shoppers has proven successful with over €15 million spent on Easter eggs so far in 2019, 41 per cent of which were bought as part of a deal.

Kantar's grocery market share figures show that Dunnes Stores remained the most popular retailer for the seventh survey in a row with a 22.3 per cent market shares. SuperValu and Tesco tied for second place with a 21.2 per cent market share each while Aldi recorded significant growth with a 12.1 per cent share, breaking the 12 per cent barrier for the first time.

Growing appeal

“While Aldi is popular with every demographic group, it is with younger shoppers that it is growing fastest. This cohort now accounts for 16 per cent of the retailer’s overall sales, having grown by 22.7 per cent over the latest 12 weeks - demonstrating its growing appeal to shoppers beyond just its core family target,” Mr Faughnan said.

Lidl, meanwhile, with an 11.8 per cent market share was the second fastest growing retailer and brands now account for just under one out of every 10 items bought.

For Supervalu, the period wasn't as positive as the rest and it recorded a sales fall of 0.4 per cent. Mr Faughnan said the grocery retailer has been impacted most by the late Easter this year.

“The retailer also benefitted disproportionately from the adverse weather brought on by the beast from the east 12 months ago, as shoppers topped up via their local and independent stores rather than larger supermarkets.”

Kantar also found that grocery market inflation stood at 1.68 per cent for the period.

The company’s figures are based on the purchasing habits of 5,000 demographically representative houses in the Republic.