Kantar: Grocery inflation at lowest level since March 2022

Grocery inflation remains at its lowest level since early 2022, despite a slight increase in the latest data published today (Monday, July 22) by Kantar.

In the 12 weeks to July 7 grocery inflation stood at 2.6%, a small increase of 0.14 percentage points over last month.

Kantar said that it marks the first time that inflation has risen after a consistent 15-month decline.

“Although there has been a slight increase in inflation, it’s still the lowest level we’ve seen since March 2022 and down 11.8 percentage points compared to July 2023," Emer Healy, business development director at Kantar, said.

"It means that shoppers in Ireland remain on the lookout for value deals in the market with over 25% of value sales on promotion.

"With retailers keen to push their own label products, we’ve seen strong sales this period with shoppers spending an additional €67.8 million year-on-year and total market growth of 4.5% on these ranges," she said.

Healy said that premium own label ranges performed strongly in the period as shoppers spent an additional €15.5 million on these lines, growth of 10.8% compared to this time last year.

"Brands grew ahead of the total market in the latest 12 weeks, up 6%, with shoppers spending an additional €86.3 million on branded products versus last year," she added.

The data shows that take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 6.6% in the four weeks to July 7.

Grocery price inflation is driving value sales growth rather than increased purchasing, Kantar said.

There was an increase in shopping frequency by consumers in July, up 3.2%. Online sales were up 12.1% year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional €19.2 million on the platform.

Kantar said that sporting events drove a combined spend of €12 million on savoury snacks, chocolate, wine, and cider in July.

The latest research shows that the lack of summer weather means that people are not spending as much on the usual barbecue and summer fare.

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In the last four weeks, shoppers spent a combined €800,000 less on chilled salads, burgers and grills and steaks than this time last year, turning to soups and hot beverages instead.

The data shows that Dunnes holds the largest market share at 23.2% due to growth of 7.2% year-on-year.

The retailer is closely followed by Tesco with 23.1% of the market, up 7.5% year-on-year.

SuperValu has 20.4% of the market, Lidl holds 13.9% and Aldi is on 12% market share.

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