Grocery inflation eases back again to stand at less than 10%

The rate at which grocery prices are increasing has eased again and currently stands at 9.8 per cent, the first time it has dropped into single digits this year and the lowest level in more than 12 months according to the latest raft of data from retail analyst Kantar.

The figures also suggest that the percentage of products being sold on promotion has inched up and stands at 24.8 per cent of sales, the highest level since the summer.

Kantar’s monthly data indicates that Irish shoppers are still looking out for the best deals with own-label goods remaining popular over the past 12 weeks and sales up 11 per cent compared to brands at 6.2 per cent.

Online sales remained strong over the 12-week period, up 28 per cent year-on-year with shoppers spending an additional €39.6 million on various online platforms.

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“This is the sixth month in a row that there’s been a drop in inflation, although it’s still high,” said Kantar’s business development director Emer Healy.

“Compared to last month’s inflation rate of 10.5 per cent, there has been a significant drop of 0.7 per cent. The positive news is that this is the lowest inflation level we have seen since September 2022 and we expect this to continue to decline over the coming months.”

Ms Healy also noted that shoppers were looking out for the best deals and with own-label goods remaining popular over the past 12 weeks, with sales up 11 per cent compared to brands at 6.2 per cent.

Premium own-label ranges had the strongest growth, up 12 per cent with shoppers spending an additional €14.8 million year-on-year.

“It looks like shoppers may be trying to temper their spend and seek savings now through own-label lines so they can splurge on the upcoming holiday season,” Ms Healy said.

As the festive season approaches and Christmas hits the supermarkets early, consumers are already reaching for more branded and premium own-label products, the research suggests.

More indulgent categories are benefiting as a result, with seasonal biscuits and take-home confectionery all seeing more accelerated growth rates on promotion year-on-year.

The general outlook is slowly starting to improve for Irish consumers, with Kantar’s latest pressure group survey revealing that 16 per cent of Irish households expect their finances to improve in the next 12 months.

Dunnes Stores, Tesco and Lidl all grew ahead of the total market in terms of value this month.

Dunnes held a 23.7 per cent market share with growth of 10.8 per cent. Tesco had a 22.5 per cent share with 11.3% growth year-on-year, while SuperValu was on 20.6 per cent.

Lidl had 13.5 per cent while Aldi was on 12.1 per cent.