SuperValu grew its share of the Irish grocery market by 20.9% to put it in poll position in the latest Kantar Worldpanel research with a market share of 22.3% for the 12 weeks to February 21st 2021.
According to Kantar, SuperValu was the only retailer to attract new shoppers into its stores and its customers traded up when they were there – spending €70m more on branded goods than this time last year.
Dunnes Stores, meanwhile, increased its sales by 9.7% during the period as its customers picked up extra items in store and continued to spend more per buyer than at any other retailer at €618.60. This resulted in an additional €62.5m spend over the 12 weeks.
Lidl was once again the fastest growing retailer at 21.8%, with basket sizes increasing by 14.9% year on year. Aldi customers spent an additional €57.1m this period, driving 13.4% growth.
Tesco shoppers, meanwhile, added an additional 3.6 items to their baskets during the period, more than customers at any other retailer, and helped the grocer’s overall sales to rise by 18.0% and putting it in third place with a market share of 21.8%.
The latest figures from Kantar show that take-home grocery sales in Ireland grew by 16.3% in the 12 weeks to 21 February 2021. Growth was even stronger during the past month at 17.7%, the highest level since November 2020, as shoppers spent an additional €151.1m.
According to Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar: “As we approach a full year since the first national lockdown in Ireland, we can see how the months of restaurant and bar closures, working from home and home schooling have added up. All those extra meals and snacks at home have led to an extra €2 billion spent on take-home groceries, including Irish shoppers splashing out €7.6 million on tea and €19.5 million on instant coffee to get their fix at home. Totting it all up, the average household grocery bill has increased by €1,000 this year.”
She adds: “We are saving some pennies on our grooming routines and healthcare though. With social distancing and limits on gatherings continuing, sales of shampoo were down 0.8% and conditioner 2.7% in the past 12 weeks and deodorant down 5.4%. Staying at home more and an emphasis on handwashing has also meant a steep decline in sales of cold and flu remedies – with cold treatments dropping 55%, cough liquids 60% and lozenges 42%. Of course, liquid soap continues to be an exception in these aisles, and sales were up 99.5% in the most recent 12 weeks.”
The Kantar figures also reveal that online grocery sales had another record-breaking month as shoppers ordered €63m worth of take-home groceries, accounting for 6.3% of all sales.
“Online’s share of the grocery market has had an extraordinary uplift compared with the pre-pandemic level of 2.7%. Lockdown may well have converted some previously reluctant digital customers long term – 241,500 people made an order in February, compared with 114,800 last year. They are also using services more often, completing 21.7% more digital orders a month,” says Healy.
