Consumer confidence among Irish shoppers shows no sign of wilting, with the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel showing further strong growth in the Irish grocery market. For the 12 weeks to the end of February, year-on-year grocery sales in Ireland grew by 3.6%, making this the third successive period where growth has been above 3% for the grocery market.

Director with Kantar Worldpanel David Berry said that Irish shoppers are not deterred by rising prices and are spending well ahead of the current 2.6% rate of inflation.

Kantar said greater sales of fresh fish, fruit, nuts, chocolate confectionary and ice cream were the leading drivers of the growth in grocery sales.

Market share

Supervalu retains its position as the largest retailer in the country, with a 25% share of the market. The retail chain, which is owned by Musgraves, saw year-on-year sales growth for the 12-week period of 3.7%.

Tesco remains the second-largest retailer in Ireland, with a 24.2% share of the grocery market. The UK retail giant saw year-on-year sales grow by a sluggish 0.6%, which is well behind its main rivals Supervalu and Dunnes. Despite the sluggish growth, Tesco will be pleased with a third successive period of growth after a difficult 12 months for the group.

Dunnes Stores is just behind Tesco, with a 24.1% slice of the Irish grocery market. The privately-owned retailer has been performing very strongly in recent months and recorded sales growth of 7% for this 12-week period, well ahead of the market.

The two German discounters continue to perform strongly and now hold a combined share of more than 16% of the Irish grocery market. Lidl holds an 8.1% slice of the market as it continues to record strong sales growth. For this 12-week period, sales increased 10.6% when compared with last year.

For Aldi, the sales growth is less pronounced at 3%, but the group continues to hold an 8.1% slice of the market.

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