Seasonal treats and promotions drive £4.4 billion grocery spend in Northern Ireland
The warmer weather played its part in a 1.9% increase in spending in Northern Ireland.
In the year to 10th August 2025, £4.4 billion was spent in the region’s grocery sector, representing a 1.9% increase on the previous year, according to the latest figures.
This growth was partly driven by warm summer weather and the tail end of the school holidays.
Although shoppers made 2.5% fewer trips, they bought more per visit, adding £70.6 million to overall growth.
The new insights from Worldpanel by Numerator also reveals that grocery inflation now stands at 3.09%, up from 2.97% last month.
Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator said that the final weeks of the holidays and the good weather encouraged shoppers to indulge in season favourites, leading to an additional £7.8 million spent on soft drinks, water and ice cream.
“Convenience also remained important, with £2.5 million more spent on chilled ready meals and antipasti. A busy social calendar contributed to spending of more than £6 million on sports and energy drinks,” said Emer.
Meanwhile, branded goods rose by £42.2 million, a 1.8% year-on-year increase, bringing their value share to 54.9%. Own-label products also performed well, rising by 2.1% with an extra £38.5 million spent and now accounting for 43.2% of the market by value.
“To make the most of their budgets, many households turned to a mix of own-label lines and promotional offers,” added Emer.
“Promotions remain a central feature of the market, now representing 23% of value sales, the highest level recorded in Northern Ireland, with more than £1 billion spent on discounted products.”
Within the supermarkets, Tesco holds the largest share at 37.3%, an increase of 7.2% on last year. Growth was supported by new shoppers, increased spend from existing customers and larger basket sizes, contributing £75.2 million to its performance.
Sainsbury’s has a 16.8% share, up 2.1% year-on-year, with more shoppers and bigger baskets boosting sales by £27.2 million.
Asda accounts for 15.6% of the market this period, while Lidl has increased its share to 9.2%, up 3.9%, as it attracted new customers and delivered an uplift of £14.4 million.
