For the 12 weeks ending 4 December, SuperValu and Dunnes Stores each captured 22.5% of the Irish grocery market, after claiming the top spot alternatively in the past few months.

“Having reached the number one spot for the first time last month, Dunnes now shares that position with SuperValu – a real testament to just how competitive this marketplace is,” said director at Kantar Worldpanel David Berry in a statement on the latest data this Monday. “Just 0.7 percentage points now separate the three largest retailers as we enter the all-important festive period,” Berry added.

Tesco ranks third with 21.8% of the market, followed by discounters Aldi and Lidl on 11.1% each.

SuperValu increased sales by 1% to catch up with Dunnes in the past 12 weeks, with shoppers spending an extra €1 on average every time they visit, Kantar has found. Dunnes remains strong, with each visit yielding €3 more than at the same time last year.

Kantar also found that Tesco has turned around sales in the last quarter after a difficult period, with evidence of more customers visiting its stores and doing so more often.

Aldi remains the fastest-growing supermarket chain in Ireland, with a 6% increase in sales since last year. Lidl is also growing faster than the overall market with a 4.3% year-on-year increase.

Kantar’s latest figures show overall grocery sales are now 3.7% higher than at the same time last year.

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