Grocery prices rising at slowest rate since March 2022

Grocery prices in Ireland are climbing at their lowest rate since just after Russia invaded Ukraine in March 2022, an act of war that precipitated the cost of living crisis, new data from retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel suggests.

It put grocery inflation at 2.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to June 9th a fall of 13 percentage points since this time last year.

As in recent months, the research suggest that while inflation continues to fall consumers in Ireland remain on the hunt for deals with over 25 per cent of the sales – in value terms – covering goods on promotion.

It also appears that shoppers have been turning their backs on many seasonal favourites and inclining towards more wintry fare.

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“With less than typical sunny weather this June, it meant shoppers were not cracking open the barbecues or dining outdoors. As a result, they spent a combined €1.6 million less on chilled salads, burgers, grills and sausages than this time last year,” said. Kantar’s business development director Emer Healy.

“We did see some bank holiday weekend indulgence with sales of savoury snacks, confectionery and beer and lager up 16 per cent, 11.9 per cent and 13.1 per cent respectively. However, there was an increase in soup sales and home baking, which added €1 million and €500,000 to the tills, respectively.”

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Sales of own-label produce performed strongly, growing ahead of the total market at 4.9 per cent year-on-year and holding value share just over 48 per cent, with shoppers spending an additional €73.5 million year-on-year.

Premium own label ranges continued to perform well with shoppers spending an additional €16.8 million on these lines, up 11.4 per cent compared to this time last year. However, sales of brands were also up by 3.9 per cent over the 12 weeks with shoppers spending an additional €57.9 million on branded lines.

Online sales were up 16.3 per cent year-on-year with shoppers spending an additional €26.6 million.

When it comes to the store wars, Dunnes holds 23.4 per cent market share, representing growth of 6.2 per cent year-on-year while Tesco is just behind Dunnes on 23.1 per cent, also up 6.2 per cent year-on-year.

SuperValu holds 20.5 per cent of the market with a comparatively weak 2.8 per cent growth while Lidl is on 13.9 per cent, up 5.6 per cent and Aldi stands on 11.8 per cent market share.

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