Irish grocery sales in the run up to Christmas were worth €3.1 billion, according to the latest Kantar sales data.

In the 12 weeks up to December 26, the grocery market grew by 11% when compared to 2019.

However, as restrictions around bars and restaurants were eased the market was back 5.2% compared to the record sales of 2020.

As more households were allowed to mix over Christmas, this was reflected in grocery sales of €1.1 billion in December alone; that's just 0.6% behind the 2020 figure.

Kantar data shows the December 2021 spend was up €141 million on the same month in 2019, which translates to an extra spend of €65 per household.

Consumers spent an extra €3.1 million on Christmas dinner and turkey sales jumped by €1.9 million.

However, sales of the controversial Brussel sprouts were back 1.4%.

Shoppers also splashed out €10.5 million more on biscuits, cheese and confectionary, compared to Christmas 2020.

Over the 12 weeks, alcohol sales fell by 23%, however the tally was up 6.7% compared to 2019.

The data shows that no or low alcohol products increased in popularity by over 12%.

Consumers spent an additional €1.2 million on cold remedies and €1.4 million on cough syrups in the run up to Christmas.

Kantar also noted that the increase in online grocery shopping is continuing; over the 12 weeks, almost 17% of households purchased their goods digitally.

The data shows that Dunnes has retained the top spot as the most popular supermarket in Ireland with a 23.2% market share.

However, SuperValu and Tesco weren't far behind with both having a 22.2% share of sales.

All of the multiples recorded a drop in sales compared to 2020, but saw significant gains on the 2019 figures: