Tesco remains the most popular supermarket in the State although its lead over second placed SuperValu has shrunk slightly, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel.

Tesco has a share of 24.9 per cent compared to SuperValu's 24.3 per cent. Dunnes Stores rounds out the retail analyst's medal positions with a share of 22.3 per cent.

Of the three supermarket giants, Dunnes Stores is likely to be happiest as it has seen its share of the market grow by 6.7 per cent over the same period last year compared to slight declines for the two supermarkets ahead of it in the never ending race for pre-eminence.

The popularity of the German discounters Aldi and Lidl continues apace with the latter recording growth of 8.1 per cent and the former posting numbers which are 5 per cent stronger than 12 months ago.Aldi now has a market share of 8.6 per cent while Lidl stand on 9 per cent.