Grocery prices are inching up again with inflation across Irish supermarkets put at just under 4 per cent when compared with the same period last year, new figures suggest.
Despite optimism last year that the cost of living crisis was coming to an end, prices have started to climb again according to data from retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel.
Its figures point to a 0.3 percentage point increase in grocery inflation to 3.7 per cent over a 12-week period to the end of February.
That means many households will have seen the cost of their groceries climb by well over 20 per cent when compared with late 2021.
Higher prices have seen more shoppers seek out deals, with spending on discounted products climbing by 11.6 per cent and promotions now accounting for 23.9 per cent of all sales going through the tills.
February proved to be a busy month for consumers with the bank holiday weekend and Valentine’s Day driving spending. Shoppers bought €14.4 million of chocolate and sweets and €4.2 million of wine.
Online sales rose by 14.6 per cent year-on-year over the latest 12-week period, as consumers spent an additional €27.8 million on websites. The number of online shopping trips increased by 10.4 per cent.
Online channels took a record 6.9 per cent market share in February. That compares with 2.7 per cent five years ago.
“In 2020, we couldn’t have predicted the full extent of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on all of our lives,” noted Emer Healy, business development director at Kantar. “However, five years later, we can see its lasting effects on consumer behaviour. Our data shows that habits haven’t fully returned to pre-pandemic norms, and shopping trips remain lower than before.”
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Ms Healy suggested that it was “hard to separate the cost-of-living crisis from post-Covid trends, with value-seeking a key consumer focus. Despite expectations, shoppers aren’t visiting more stores for deals, averaging only four stores over the past 12 weeks.”
Kantar points to growing impact of supermarket loyalty schemes that offer exclusive discounts as playing a key role in attracting shoppers.
“Retailers continue to roll out discounts, as a way of easing the pressure on household budgets – and Irish consumers are more than happy to take advantage of them.”
Over the latest 12 weeks, Dunnes held a 24.6 per cent market share, with sales growth of 6.9 per cent year-on-year. Tesco was on 23.9 per cent with value growth of 6.5 per cent while SuperValu commanded 20.4 per cent of the market with growth of 4.5 per cent.
