NI Grocery market up 4.3% – Lidl shows fastest growth
The latest figures from Kantar show the NI Grocery market up 4.3% – with Lidl experiencing the fastest growth.
“The Northern Irish grocery market grew by 4.3% in the 52 weeks to 11 July 2021. People made bigger, less frequent trips to the supermarket this year to limit the time they spent out of the home and volume sales increased by 5.9% as a result” said Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar.
Decline in last 12 weeks
“In the shorter term, the market declined by 8.1% in the most recent 12 weeks as we compare sales against the exceptionally high grocery spending at the height of the first national lockdown.
“As the hospitality sector gradually reopens, consumers spent £32 million less on alcohol from the supermarkets in the latest 12 weeks, a 29.7% decline compared with last year. Sales of home cooking categories declined by 18.5% as people made the most of being able to eat out with friends and family.
On the up and up
“Tesco remains the country’s largest grocer, increasing its sales by 5.2% compared with the previous year and benefiting from shoppers picking up two extra items each visit to store. Sainsbury’s grew by 3.0% this period as its customers each made five extra trips to its stores. Asda’s sales rose by 4.5%, helping it to hold 16.1% of the grocery market.
“Lidl is still the fastest growing retailer in Northern Ireland, with sales 13.5% higher than last year. This growth came from consumers buying more per trip and going to stores more often, with frequency of trips up 10.8%.”
