Consumers to spend over €1bn on groceries ahead of Christmas
Irish households are expected to spend over €1 billion on grocery shopping in the run-up to Christmas, according to new research.
Kantar research also showed that Dunnes Stores is the most popular Irish retailer, followed by SuperValu in second and Tesco in third.
Dunnes Stores claimed a market share of 22.4% in the three months to December 2.
Overall, the grocery market experienced growth of 2.9% in the last 12 weeks, according to Kantar research.
While December is usually the most lucrative month for the grocery market, this year looks set to break the €1 billion threshold for the first time.
. @dunnesstores claimed pole position for the third consecutive period with a market share of 22.4%. Click here for more insights: https://t.co/UPc9YULp3W #Grocerymarketshare pic.twitter.com/jw8jim5G0K
— Kantar UK & Ireland (@Kantar_UKI) December 17, 2018
With Christmas day falling on a Tuesday, this will give retailers an additional day of trading to look forward to.
"As the 25 December fell on a Monday last year, Friday and Saturday were the two biggest trading days for the major grocers," said Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel.
"However, with the big day coming on Tuesday this time around, we expect most households to do the bulk of their Christmas grocery shopping on the Saturday and Sunday – with extra sales on the Monday representing a welcome Christmas bonus for retailers."
Irelands's #GroceryMarketShare the 12 weeks to the 2 December 2018.
— Kantar UK & Ireland (@Kantar_UKI) December 17, 2018
@SuperValuIRL 21.7%
@TescoIRLnews 21.6%
@dunnesstores 22.4%
@lidl_ireland 11.3%
@Aldi_Ireland 11.6%
Full story here: https://t.co/tVKQ4io6rJ pic.twitter.com/nzit9fb8SA
Kantar research shows that Lidl and Aldi have seen the strongest growth among all retailers as they increase their branded options.
Following the results, a spokesperson for Aldi UK and Ireland said that they were delighted to be the fastest growing retailer in Ireland for the third month.
"We’ve already experienced very positive sales in the lead up to Christmas," said Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK and Ireland.
Lidl Ireland has revealed some of their most popular items in the run-up to Christmas.
Since November, Lidl has sold over 1.5 million Brussels Sprouts, 8 million carrots, 400,000 Christmas crackers, almost 1 million mince pies and enough wrapping paper to stretch all the way from Dublin to Florence, Italy.
