A happy Christmas for all the State’s major retailers saw the retail market grow by 3.5 per cent over the festive season as shoppers relaxed their purse strings.

The latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland for the 12 weeks to January 3rd point to a strong uplift for the Irish grocery market resulting in overall market growth not seen since January 2009.

The new numbers show that just over 1 per cent seperates the market share of the most popular retailer and the retailer in third position.

SuperValu has retained its position as the number one retailer in Ireland. Sales growth has continued to accelerate over recent months and reached 4.3 per cent over the past 12 weeks. The bounce took the retailer’s share of the market to 25.1 per cent.

Tesco saw a marginal uplift in its sales taking its market share to 24.6 per cent. Dunnes enjoyed a strong sales performance with an increase of 5.6 per cent in its sales which saw its market share increase by half a percentage point to 24 per cent.

Lidl enjoyed the strongest growth within the grocery market with sales 11.6 per cent ahead of Christmas 2014 as an additional 44,000 people chose to shop with the retailer this year. It's market share is now 8 per cent compared to the 7.9 per cent held by Aldi.

The director at Kantar Worldpanel David Berry described Christmas as the most important time of the year for grocery retailers. ]

“The past 12 weeks are the first time since March 2013 that all five of the major supermarkets in Ireland have grown sales,” he said. “Shoppers spent an additional €77 million on groceries compared with the same time last year, with confectionary, crisps and other snacks doing particularly well. “

Mr Berry pointed out that it wasn't just party food that boosted sales and shoppers also spent more on staple items such as fruit, vegetables and eggs. "This is a clear sign of increased consumer confidence as shoppers worry less about what they're spending," he suggested.