The August report on the behaviour of Irish shoppers from Worldpanel by Numerator shows that inflation has risen further at the tills.

In the 12-week period to mid-August, grocery prices were 5.86% higher than a year ago. That’s an increase from the 5.43% seen in the previous report for July.

The Worldpanel inflation number is calculated by comparing the price on 30,000 identical products.

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Shoppers can reduce their personal level of inflation by switching to cheaper alternatives, such as own-brand supermarket goods – something which was seen during the rapid increase in prices in the wake of the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

There is some evidence of a similar trend emerging, with spending on supermarket own-label goods rising by 6.3%, while spending on premium own-label products rising 14.5%.

For branded goods, the increase was a smaller at 5.7%. Own-label products hold 47.1% of the total grocery market, slightly ahead of branded goods at 47%.

Retailers

Dunnes remains the largest retailer in the country with 23.5% of the market, Tesco is in close second at 23.4%. Lidl has seen its market share rise from 13.7% to 14.2%.

In the most recent four-week period, Irish consumer spending on groceries increased by €68.2m, with an increase in alcohol sales of €7.2m as shoppers made the most of the summer sun and festival season.