Dunnes leapfrogs Tesco to take second place in supermarket league

Dunnes Stores has leapfrogged Tesco into second place in the Republic's store wars and is now less than half a percentage point behind market leader SuperValu, according to the latest figures from retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel.

Its supermarket share figures covering the 12 weeks ending on October 9th give SuperValu a market share of 22.4 per cent compared with the 22 per cent enjoyed by Dunnes Stores.

Tesco is now in third place with a market share of 21.6 per cent.

The latest figures are also good news for Aldi, which recorded the strongest growth over the last three months with its year-on-year sales increasing by 6.6 per cent. The increase boosted its share of the market to 11.4 per cent, just 0.2 per cent behind its nearest rival, Lidl.

Sales at Dunnes Stores have grown 6.2 per cent over the past quarter with the biggest factor driving growth "an increase in the size of the average shopping trip," said David Berry, director at Kantar Worldpanel.

Average spend

The average spend is €38.10, up €3 year on year. The retailer with the next largest trip size is Aldi, where shoppers part with €25.10 on average – €13 less than at Dunnes.

“Since its introduction, Dunnes’ ‘shop and save’ initiative has gone from strength to strength,” Mr Berry said. “ The campaign has been very successful in persuading shoppers to spend more, and we’ve seen a whopping 18 per cent increase in shopping trips where consumers spend over €100 since last year.”

SuperValu continues to hold the number one position in Ireland, with sales growth of 2.9 per cent.

While Tesco has slipped into third spot, it has steadied the ship somewhat compared with previous months, with value sales falling by just 1.3 per cent – the lowest level of decline since May this year – and volume sales increasing.