Latest data from market research company Kantar shows prices for everyday items are still rapidly rising, with grocery inflation in Ireland at 15.4% now - even faster than what is experienced in the UK.

While the total spend in the four weeks to 25 December 2022 rose 6.7% to a record, the actual amount of stuff consumers bought fell 4%.

Paying more for less is a sure sign that people are coming under increasing pressure from rising prices.

Friday 23 December was the busiest shopping day of the year, with €94.4m going through the tills.

Wine was one of the few items that saw growth in both value and volume of sales, with shoppers buying 7.3% more than last year, perhaps due to larger Christmas gatherings being planned.

Market share

Among Irish retailers, Dunnes continues to be the strongest performer, holding 23.7% of the market.

Tesco is in a close second at 23% and Supervalu is at 21%. Aldi and Lidl hold a combined 23.8% of the grocery market share.

While the outlook for consumers remains uncertain at the start of 2023, the drop in oil and other commodity prices in recent months should eventually feed through to a slow-down in the pace of price increases at the till.