Dunnes holds steady as Ireland’s top grocer
According to the latest data from Kantar, Monday 23 December was the most popular shopping day of the year, with consumers spending €107 million on that one day alone
Print13 January 2025
Dunnes holds 24.8% market share, with sales growth of 6.9% year-on-year. Shoppers increased their number of trips by 3.6% while picking up more packs per trips, which contributed a combined €44.3 million to its overall performance, according to the latest grocery data from Kantar.
Tesco holds 24.2% of the market, with value growth of 6.4% year-on-year as shoppers increased their trips to store by 5.1%.
SuperValu holds 20.5% of the market with growth of 3.2%. Consumers made the most shopping trips to this grocer, averaging 23.8 trips over the latest 12 weeks. The increased number of shopping trips and more items picked up per trip contributed €27.1 million to its performanc
Lidl holds a 12.3% share of total spending with growth of 4.6%. Increased trips to store and increased volume per trip drove an additional €24.2 million in sales.
Aldi holds 10.6% market share, up 3.9% versus on last year, with an increase in trips contributing an extra €18.3 million to its overall performance.
Take-home sales
Irish shoppers were in the mood to celebrate and splash out over the festive period.
Take-home value sales over the four weeks to 29 December 2024 increased by 4.4% to reach nearly €1.4 billion, making it the biggest sales month of the year, despite grocery price inflation increasing 3.6%.
In December, shoppers in Ireland also returned to the store more often, making 23 trips on average to pick up Christmas essentials and luxuries, compared to just 17 trips on average in Great Britain.
Busiest trading month
“December was the busiest trading month we have seen – not just this year, but since the pre-lockdown rush in March 2020,” said Emer Healy, business development director, Kantar.
‘As anticipated, Monday 23 December was the most popular shopping day of the year, with consumers spending €107 million on that one day alone, €11.9 million more than the highest trading day last year. In typical festive spirit, many of us looked for ways to treat ourselves, while the retailers in Ireland rolled out their seasonal lines to help us celebrate in style,” she said.
According to Kantar, shoppers were willing to spend slightly more than usual with sales of branded products up 5.9%. Meanwhile, premium own label lines saw a sharp increase of 10.5%, surpassing the overall growth of own label products, which stood at 3.2%. Over the latest 12 weeks, shoppers spent nearly €140 million on premium own label ranges.
Sales on promotion hit a high of 23.8% in December, growing 5.2%.
Shoppers grabbed the chance to indulge and spend a bit more than usual on festive treats, with beer & cider and pastries & biscuits seeing the highest levels of buying on deal.
Shoppers pop a festive cork or two
Healy adds: “Alcohol took centre stage in this year’s festive shopping carts, with shoppers spending an additional €79 million on alcohol versus the previous month. Champagne & sparkling wine, beer & cider, and wine were popular among shoppers who spent an additional €60.8 million compared to the previous month. Others enjoyed themselves in moderation, with 9% of Irish households purchasing no and low alcohol drinks in December, spending an additional €2 million on these products.”
Shoppers spent an additional €28.3 million online, increasing sales by 14.7% year-on-year. Over the latest 12-week period, the number of online shopping trips increased 13.3%, with both new and existing online shoppers looking to save time during the busy Christmas period adding €28.3 million to the platform.
Read more: Sports driven summer sees 4.7% rise in shopping trips – Kantar
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