Dunnes Stores has beaten off stiff competition to claim the highest market share for the 12 weeks up to 7 October this year.

The latest report from Kantar Worldpanel shows that the firm held an overall market share of 22.1%, a sales growth of 3.4%.

It also managed to attract an extra 14,000 shoppers to its stores, which Kantar attributes to the Dunnes campaign for cheaper everyday and own-brand items.

“Dunnes traditionally performs strongly over the festive period and the retailer may feel like Christmas has come early this year,” Kantar Worldpanel consumer insight director Douglas Faughnan said.

Other supermarkets

Tesco was knocked off the top slot, which it has held for six consecutive terms, with its market share of 21.5%.

However, its online sales were up 15% compared with this time last year.

While dominant in Munster – with a 26% share in the region – SuperValu struggled to make a bigger impact in Dublin, with an overall market share of 19.4%.

It may be looking to overturn that trend, after its parent company Musgraves recently bought the high-end Dublin-based chain Donnybrook Fair.

Discounters also saw an increase in their market share, with a 4.5% surge in sales growth for Aldi, taking its overall market share up to 11.8%.

The report posits that this is due to Aldi’s swap and save campaign, which has seen an additional 28,000 shoppers through its doors in the last 12 weeks.

Lidl also saw its sales growth increase by 3%, holding an 11.7% market share.

Online

Online shopping is gaining momentum, with Tesco increasing online sales by 15% since this time last year.

The supermarket has also announced that it will be providing free delivery to over-65s when they spend €50 or more.

“Although just 2.4% of grocery retailing comes through e-commerce at present, this figure is forecast to hit 5% by 2022 and retailers are now looking at new ways to capture their share of the online pie,” Faughnan said.

Lidl has also launched an online foray, partnering with the app Buymie to pilot a Dublin-based postcode scheme where a small number of consumers can order items from their phone.

While good news for retailers, the perceived control the five main retailers have in Ireland is often criticised, with a series of issues regarding milk price and the origin of pork products arising this year.

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