The Kantar figures, published on Tuesday for the 12 weeks ending 20 May 2018, show Tesco has reclaimed the top spot on its own for the first time in more than two years, with an overall market share of 22.3%.

The retailer grew sales by 4.5% (far ahead of the overall market, which saw growth of 2.8%). The gap between the top three has also widened; with Supervalu and Dunnes capturing 22% and 21.8% of the market respectively.

Consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, Douglas Faughnan stated that a “strategic emphasis on volume sales, particularly through its private label offering", has been key to Tesco becoming Ireland’s biggest grocer once again.

"Tesco’s own label range has been at the centre of its performance, now accounting for more than half of overall sales following double digit growth this period.”

Branded sales have been helping boost discounter performance, as Faughnan continued to say that “private label items at Aldi and Lidl still account for over 90% of sales. These increases have been central to the overall growth of 2.0% and 3.5% at Aldi and Lidl respectively.”

Supervalu

Supervalu sales grew by just under 1% this period achieving an overall share of 22.0%. The retailer’s focus on fresh produce through its Supervalu seven offer is evident – volume sales of vegetables are up on last year with staple vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes and carrots showing particularly strong performance.

Dunne Stores

For the first time in more than 12 months, Dunnes has seen an increase in customers coming through its doors, with an extra 9,000 shoppers in the last 12 weeks.

This, combined with a 3.4% increase in average price paid and shoppers buying more items per trip, helped the retailer grow by 2.6% compared with last year.

Sugar Tax

The introduction of the sugar tax in Ireland during May has not yet been reflected in volume sales of carbonated soft drinks, with overall volume sales in May up 4.8% on the same period last year. This did, however, coincide with a period of hot weather over the May bank holiday.

Although the tax is in its infancy, there is a substantial level of awareness among Irish shoppers about its existence; 50% say they are aware of it and that it is important to them.

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