Grocery inflation in Ireland has climbed to a record high of 12.4%, according to the latest Kantar report published today (Monday, October 17).

The report warned that the average annual shop is due to increase by almost €870 as a result of price rises.

Kantar said that the average price of staple products such as butter, milk and bread now 28% higher than this time last year.

Grocery sales in Ireland increased by 3.6% in the 12 weeks to October 3, 2022.

Shoppers spent an additional €99.1 million compared to the same period last year, while the number of shopping trips increased by almost 4%.

As a result of rising prices consumers are changing their shopping preferences with the sales of supermarket own-label ranges increasing by 7.2%, while value own-label ranges recorded sales growth of 23.5%.

The report shows a drop in online sales for the first time since March with a 5.5% increase in consumers choosing to visit stores instead.

Commenting on the findings, Emer Healy, senior retail analyst at Kantar, said:

"As food and drink prices continue to climb alongside other financial pressures, 32% of shoppers in Ireland admit they are ‘struggling’ to make ends meet, a figure that has increased from 23% in March of this year.

"The average annual grocery bill will go from €6,999 to €7,867 if consumers don’t make any changes to what they buy and how they shop to cut costs.

Despite the increasing prices, Kantar said that shoppers are preparing for the Halloween 'trick or treat' visitors; sales of pumpkins are up by a quarter compared to last year, while an additional €2.1 million has been spend on sweets and chocolate.

The report shows that Dunnes has the highest market share with 22.7% and growth of 8.2% year-on-year driven by a 5% increase in new shoppers.

Tesco holds 21.8% of the market, followed by SuperValu on 21.2%, Lidl with 13.1% and Aldi on 12.7%.