Grocery prices for the hard-pressed Irish consumer jumped by 6.82% over the 12 weeks to 25 January, new data from Wordpanel by Numerator has found.
The figures from the global consumer behaviour specialists revealed that Irish grocery shoppers spent €1.2 billion in the four-week period to 25 January, while prices for their purchases rose by 5% in that month.
In terms of the overall market share of retailers, Dunnes holds 24.8%, followed by Tesco on 24.4%, while SuperValu holds 19.4% market share, with Lidl holding 13.2% and Aldi at 10.4%, the date showed.
Wordpanel by Numerator monitors trends in the fast moving consumer goods market through a 5,000 household purchase panel – examining the the everyday food and non-food consumer products that make up a significant portion of the Irish household.
The data showed that while shoppers made slightly more trips to stores compared to the corresponding period last year, their expenditure highlighted “continued caution among Irish consumers as grocery inflation rose.”
Prices rises are cumulative, and many analyses have shown sharp rises in the prices of groceries since 2020 – with one shopping basket examination showing a 36% in under 5 years.
Worldpanel by Numerator said the popularity of online grocery sales is continuing, rising by 7% year on year- and that shoppers spent an additional €15m online, with nearly 20% of Irish households purchasing groceries online during the latest 12-week period.
The data and insights span across Fresh, Health and Beauty and Alcohol; fish and chilled convenience, meat, bakery, dairy, toiletries and healthcare as well as household products such as household cleaners, air fresheners and paper products.
The report also showed that Irish shoppers spent an additional €454,000 on low and non-alcoholic beverages in January.
“Spending on fresh fruit, chilled smoothies, juices and yoghurts was also on the rise, increasing by more than €8.1 million, while healthcare sales increased 6.8% year on year,” Worldpanel by Numerator said.