Dunnes Stores has reported sales growth of 4.6 per cent for the 12 weeks ending January 20, the supermarket group's strongest result in four years.

The group now has a 24.3 share of the Irish grocery market, behind Tesco's 27.6 per cent share.

Kantar Worldpanel commercial director David Berry said Dunnes’ sales growth highlights the success of the 'Shop and Save' campaign launched in the run up to Christmas.

"Shoppers have responded well to this offer, picking up more items every time they shop and increasing the average size of their baskets by almost €3 to €36.70 – an increase of 9 per cent. This has opened a considerable gap between Dunnes and its competition, with the average Tesco and SuperValu shop standing at €30.40 and €22.40 respectively."

Discount German retailer Aldi enjoyed the strongest level of growth, up 30 per cent in the 12 weeks to January 22, compared to same period the previous year. The retailer grew its market share from 4.6 per cent to 5.9 per cent as shoppers continued to feel the squeeze of reduced incomes.

Meanwhile, Tesco's share of the grocery market fell by half a percentage point, moving from 28.1 per cent to 27.6 per cent. Its sales growth also declined by 1 per cent.