Consumers continue to react to rising prices while take-home grocery sales increase
Take-home grocery sales in Northern Ireland increased by 1.8% in the year to 19th April, according to the latest figures.
With pricing pressures continuing to rise and shoppers reacting by visiting stores less often, they are managing their household budgets by shopping in larger trips, resulting in frequency decreasing by 9.3% on the same period last year.
The latest insights from Worldpanel by Numerator show the Easter celebrations boosted volume per trip, which was up 2.5% compared to the same period last year.
As Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator, Emer Healy explained, global events are directly impacting the rise of everyday grocery prices.
“Shoppers are seeking out promotional offers to offset price increases where they can, and an additional 66 million packs were purchased on promotion in the latest 52 weeks, including Easter compared to the same period last year,” said Emer.
“Shoppers in Northern Ireland made the most of Easter this year, and brands were a firm favourite in baskets as shoppers looked to treat themselves.”
Meanwhile, branded goods continued to lead the market, holding a 56% value share and growing by 4.6%, contributing more than £106 million in additional sales compared to last year. Shoppers also selected premium products from own-label ranges in their Easter baskets, with spend growth up by 11% versus last year.
“The latest 12 weeks saw shoppers in Northern Ireland indulging over the festive season, with an additional combined £27 million spent on wine, antipasti, chilled desserts and chocolate confectionary,” added Emer.
“However, performance of typical Easter favourites varied this year. Although nearly 35% of Northern Irish households purchased hot cross buns, shoppers spent £355,000 less on them compared to last year. Lamb did not feature prominently at the Easter dinner table this year, with sales down nearly 40% year-on-year.
“Despite this decline, 20% of Northern Irish households did purchase lamb over the Easter month.”
Tesco retained its position as Northern Ireland’s largest grocer, increasing its share to 39%, driving 8.1% value growth. Its performance was boosted by both new shoppers and larger baskets, contributing an additional £127.5 million.
Sainsbury’s followed with 17.3% market share, up 6% year-on-year in value growth. The retailer benefited from an influx of new shoppers, as well as existing customers returning to store more frequently, together contributing an additional £17.3 million to performance.
Asda now hols 14.4% value share, with new shoppers to store contributing an additional £6.2 million to overall performance. Lidl holds 9.7% value share, up 7.2% in value growth. It attracted new shoppers and also saw existing customers picking up more items per trip, contributing a combined uplift of just over £11.6 million.
