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Retail

Irish Consumers Display ‘Cautious Optimism’ As Grocery Sales Increase By 24.7%: Kantar

By Dayeeta Das
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Irish Consumers Display ‘Cautious Optimism’ As Grocery Sales Increase By 24.7%: Kantar

Take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 24.7% in the 12 weeks to 14 June 2020, according to the latest data from Kantar.

The number of shopping trips increased by 2.3% in the period, as lockdown restrictions started to ease, with customers spending an additional €628.7 million on groceries.

However, customers continued to buy more than in normal times, with the average person spending €204 extra in June compared to the same period last year, or an average of €30.77 per trip.

'Cautious Optimism'

Retail analyst at Kantar, Emer Healy, commented, “There are indications of cautious optimism in Ireland. Despite the months of lockdown, 40% of Irish consumers say they feel financially comfortable and that’s reflected in how they are shopping.

“With some of the usual ways to treat themselves off-limits, they’re trading up to branded goods in-store, spending an additional €381 million on these products compared with last year.”

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Healy added, ”People meeting friends and family outside of their home boosted sales of picnic favourites this month, as sales of dips were up 25%, soft drinks 42% and crisps 52%.”

Online Shopping

The data revealed that 99,000 households used online delivery services in the latest 12-week period.

Customers spent €70.9 million more in online grocery shopping in the period, which represents a 114.3% increase on a year-on-year basis.

However, 63.6% of shoppers said that they haven’t shopped online and do not intend on doing so in the future.

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Healy explained, “Younger consumers appear to be holding back from online orders so that more vulnerable groups can benefit from them – taking heed of advice from the grocers.

“Nearly 40% of shoppers said this is the main reason they haven’t ordered groceries online during the lockdowns.”

Top Retailers

SuperValu emerged as the top retailer with the highest market share of 22.9% and sales growth of 35.2% in the latest 12 weeks.

The retailer benefitted from its large store network as consumers continued to shop from retailers closer to their homes.

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Tesco occupied second position with a 22.2% growth in sales and a 21.5% market share, driven by an increase in consumer spending, which shoppers picking up around five additional items per visit.

The market share of Dunnes Stores for this period was 20.5%, with year-on-year sales growth of 15.4%.

Lidl boosted its sales by 29.7%, while Aldi’s sales were up 20.4% year-on-year.

More than 40% of Irish shoppers are now shopping closer to home, resulting in a 44.8% growth in sales across independent outlets during the 12-week period, data showed.

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Overall, shoppers were more dependent on local suppliers and spent an additional €2.4 million at greengrocers and €11 million at butchers compared with the same period last year.

© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.

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