Northern Ireland grocery sales rise 0.8% with £4.3 billion through tills
A total of £4.3 billion passed through the tills of Northern Ireland grocers in the year to 23rd March 2025, representing a modest increase of 0.8% compared to the previous year.
While shoppers made fewer trips to stores, with visits down by 1.3%, they picked up more packs per visit, according to the latest data from Kantar. This change in behaviour contributed an additional £35 million to the overall market performance.
Northern Ireland grocery inflation now stands at 2.32%, up 0.06 percentage points from last month – the first slight increase in 18 months, however, remains just above levels last seen in March 2022.
Meanwhile, Northern Irish shoppers spent an additional £14.4 million on their favourite brands, marking a year-on-year increase of 0.6%. This uplift has boosted the branded value share to 54.6%, while own-label products account for 43.5% of the value market share.
Additionally, many shoppers here have turned to promotions and own-label products in their search for the best value. Promotional activity remains strong, representing over 22.5% of value sales. In total, shoppers spent almost £1 billion on promotional deals.
Business Development Director at Kantar, Emer Healy said Northern Irish shoppers are showing restraint due to the later Easter this year.
SPENDING AROUND CELEBRATIONS
“Over the past 12 weeks, shoppers spent an additional £8.2 million on wine, ready meals and biscuits combined, largely drive by celebrations surrounding St Patrick’s Day,” said Emer.
“With Easter falling later this year, shoppers in Northern Ireland have shown restraint, spending £8.3 million less on Easter eggs and seasonal confectionery compared to the same period last year.”
Looking at grocery market share, Tesco continues to lead the market, holding a 36.6% share, an increase of 5.2% compared to last year. This growth has been driven by a rise in store visits and the attraction of new shoppers, contributing an additional £61.7 million to its performance.
Sainsbury’s holds a 16.7% market share, with the retailer welcoming an influx of new customers, while existing shoppers purchased greater volumes, contributing £68 million to overall performance.
Asda holds 16.2% of the market, an increase of 1.6% over this period. Growth in volume per trip and the acquisition of new shoppers together added £6.4 million to its performance. Lidl now holds a 9.2% market share, up 2.3% year-on-year, with more frequent trips boosting overall performance by £10 million.
