Alcohol sales drop as NI shoppers embrace Dry January: Kantar

Alcohol sales fell by 12.8% in January compared to a year ago, as shoppers showed a strong commitment to Dry January, according to retail analysts Kantar.

Meanwhile, grocery sales in Northern Ireland declined but remained higher than pre-pandemic.

Emer Healy, Senior Retail Analyst at Kantar, commented: “The Northern Irish grocery market declined by 5.5% over the year to 23 January 2022, but it remains 7.7% larger than it was prior to the pandemic two years ago.

“Looking at the latest 12 weeks, take-home grocery sales have fallen by 6.4% as people have made the most of more relaxed restrictions and started eating at pubs, bars and restaurants again.

“There has been a 12.9% drop off in the amount of home cooking done by Northern Irish shoppers in the past year.  We can really see the impact of this shift reflected in how much people are buying and how often they are going to the shops.  Basket sizes have dropped by 7.6% while supermarket visits are down 3.2%.

“Alcohol sales fell by 12.8% over the past 12 months, as shoppers showed a strong commitment to Dry January during the first month of the year.

“Looking at the retailers, Tesco has maintained its position as Northern Ireland’s largest grocer with a 35.6% share.  Lidl put in a strong performance this period and it was the only retailer to see year-on-year growth as people visited its stores more often.  It holds a 7.1% share of the market.

“Sainsbury’s held its market share steady at 17% while Asda’s share sits at 16%.”