Supermarket sales boost from Euro 2016

When Robbie Brady put the ball in the Italian net in the last group game of Euro 2016 some of the biggest cheers most likely came from the State's leading retailers who were experiencing a significant bounce in trade as a result of the Republic's involvement in the tournament.

According to the latest supermarket figures from Kantar Worldpanel, in the 12 weeks to July 17th, Irish supermarkets saw a sales bounce of over 3 per cent compared with the same period last year

Alcohol sales over the same period weeks went up by 11 per cent as consumers stocked up more often and bought more each time they shopped.

"Ireland's involvement in the Euro 2016 certainly looks to have had a positive impact for the major supermarkets," said Kantar Worldpanel's Irish director David Berry.

In addition to alcohol sales climbing, the sale of soft drinks, confectionery, crisps and snacks “all also saw positive sales growth as football fans made the most of the opportunity to treat themselves”, he said.

There was no change in the supermarket pecking order with Supervalu retaining the top spot with a share of 22.5 per cent. Tesco remains in second place with a share of 21.9 per cent while Dunnes Stores is in third spot on 21.3 per cent.

Lidl remains the fourth largest supermarket with an 11.9 per cent share of the market while Aldi is in fifth spot with a share of 11.2 per cent.

“The strongest growth we’ve seen this period has actually been from the smaller retailers, which together increased sales by 6.8 per cent,” Mr Berry said.

"This has been boosted in particular by bargain stores such as Dealz, a strong period for Iceland and an increase in cross-border shopping. Iceland and bargain stores have both felt the benefit of expanding their store estates, while the drop in the value of sterling has made cross-border shopping more appealing.

“While all three of these phenomena remain small, they have contributed to an impressive combined €14 million sales increase,” he said.