No January blues for grocery market
Dunnes Stores has retained its position as Ireland's most popular supermarket, according to the latest market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel Ireland. Amid positive growth in the industry as a whole, Dunnes's market share in the 12 weeks to 27 January was 23.1%.
Print11 February 2019
A record-breaking festive season for Ireland’s grocery market has been followed up with an equally encouraging January, with sales growth of 3.4% across the industry measured in the 12 weeks to 27 January 2019. According to the latest date from Kantar Worldpanel Ireland, Dunnes Stores is still Ireland’s most popular supermarket, with 23.1% of the market, followed by Tesco with 22.1%. SuperValu is lagging behind a little with a 21.6% market share.
New Year resolutions and the post-Christmas detoxes informed many shopper decisions, with sales of plant-based milk alternatives up 40% from the same period in 2018. However, the popular “dry January” trend did not appear to harm sales, with more than one-third of Irish shoppers purchasing beer, cider or wine in the four weeks of January.
According to Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, January sales did see families cut back on premium products following an indulgent Christmas season. “While families were willing to ‘splurge’ in the run-up to Christmas, January has seen them cut back,” he said. “The average household spent €120 less on groceries in the first four weeks of the year than in December.”
Between December and January, sales of branded and premium products fell by 28% and 31% respectively, Kantar Worldpanel Ireland’s report reveals.
Sales of fruit and veg rose considerably in January, along with vegetable side-dishes and vegetarian meat substitute products such as sausages and burgers. Sales of plant-based milk alternatives were 40% higher year-on-year, illustrating the growing popularity of these products.
Meanwhile, Aldi and Lidl continue to gain market share, with more than 70% of Irish households shopping at both during the past 12 weeks, representing a sales increase of 10% and 5.2% respectively.
Dunnes was the only other retailer to gain market share this period, attracting enough new shoppers to boost its sales by 4%. Despite the number of Tesco and SuperValu customers both remaining flat, the retailers increased sales by 1.5% and 1.3% respectively.
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