Dunnes tops supermarket league as Lidl and Aldi advance

The imminent arrival of ex Hurricane Ophelia to Ireland last month led to a mini-Christmas sales period among large retail chains with a double-figure spike in sales in some areas as people stocked up and hunkered down.

According to new figures released by retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel the storm which hit on the October 16th had "a surprisingly strong effect on the Irish grocery market".

In the days before the storm supermarkets were buoyed by a sales bounce as shoppers battened down the hatches. Munster in particular saw an uplift in sales, with growth reaching 12 per cent, Kantar said.

Separately, its latest grocery market share figures for the 12-week period to November 5th shows that Dunnes Stores has returned to the top spot for the first time in nine months, capturing a 22.4 per cent share of the market.

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SuperValu is in the second spot with a 22 per cent share of the market while Tesco is marginally behind on 21.9 per cent.

"Tesco's sales are 5.1 per cent higher than they were this time last year, which has lifted its share of the market," said the director of Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland David Berr. "The retailer is the only one of the top five not to lose shoppers this year, and customers have been tempted in by lower prices. On average, consumers have paid 2 per cent less than this time last year and in turn this has contributed to shoppers making bigger trips and returning to store more often."

Mr Berry also said that Dunnes Stores traditionally posts a strong performance towards the end of the year this year no exception. "While growth of 1.4 per cent compared to this time last year is slightly behind the market average, shoppers have spent almost €2 more per trip this period, which has been enough for the retailer to edge ahead of the competition."

Meanwhile, Aldi and Lidl have both continued to see sales grow ahead of the market - up 2.9 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively.

Lidl now has a market share of 11.6 per cent while Aldi is on 11.5 per cent

Unusually, Lidl has performed well in branded goods, particularly in the alcohol, biscuits and confectionery aisles as shoppers gear up for the festive season.