Kantar reports that Irish grocery sales fell by 7.2% over the 12 weeks to 17 April, which is 5.2% below where sales were when COVID-19 began in this period 2020. It also reports that grocery price inflation has hit 4.7% in this period, the highest level since September 2013.

While overall sales are down, online sales have increased by 3.2% year-on-year.

Affordability

Kantar also reports that basic foods like cooked poultry, bread, butter and pasta have seen the biggest price increases and that 23% of households are saying that they are struggling to afford the weekly shop.

The drop has been experienced by all the major Irish supermarkets.

Dunnes Stores holds on to top spot with a 22.4% share of the market, while SuperValu come next with a 21.8% share, just a fraction ahead of Tesco, which has a 27.1% share.

Lidl and Aldi have a 13% and 12.1% share, respectively.