There is fresh evidence that the worst of the cost of living crisis may have passed with news that grocery price inflation has fallen to its lowest level in more than two years with shoppers having a more positive outlook as a result.
The data from retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel put grocery inflation at 2.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to the middle of April. This time last year inflation was running at just under 13 per cent.
The research also reveals the nation’s sweet tooth with a dramatic surge in chocolate egg and hot cross bun sales in the run up to Easter.
Take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 4 per cent in the four weeks to April 14th as shoppers spent more in-store than usual in preparation for the Easter and school holidays.
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People remained on the hunt for value with 24.9 per cent of sales going through the till being for items on promotion, climbing to more than 43 per cent for Easter eggs.
Retailers also pushed own label lines to get shoppers through the doors with sales growing ahead of the total market at 6.5 per cent year-on-year and holding value share just shy of 48 per cent.
Premium own label ranges also performed well with shoppers spending an additional €18.7 million on these lines year-on-year, and growth of 12.9 per cent when compared to this time last year.
“This is the twelfth month in a row that there’s been a drop in grocery inflation, so more good news for consumers,” said Kantar’s business development director Emer Healy. “It’s the lowest inflation level we have seen since March 2022.”
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She also pointed to Kantar’s latest pressure group survey which shows that Irish consumers have a more positive outlook “with fewer people struggling financially thanks to the easing of inflationary pressures. Around a quarter of shoppers admit they are still struggling, and while this is still significant, it’s a big improvement on the 32 per cent who reported the same last October.”
She said that earlier than normal Easter didn’t affect seasonal confectionery sales with spending topping €23.9 million for the first time ever in the days leading up to Easter Sunday.
While rising prices played a big role, the number of chocolate Easter eggs sold in the seven days to Easter was also 22 per cent higher than this time last year with nearly 34 per cent of Irish consumers buying one during this period.
A record €9.9 million was spent on Easter eggs alone, while many also opted for hot cross buns with shoppers spending over €1 million over the week, up 7.7 per cent on last spring.” Online sales were up 19.5 per cent year-on-year with shoppers spending an additional €33 million on the platform.
When it comes to the store wars, Dunnes holds 23.9 per cent market share while Tesco is in second on 23 per cent. SuperValu is on 20.4 per cent with Lidl having 13.6 per cent share and Aldi on 11.5 per cent.
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