Symbol retailers post biggest increase in Northern Ireland grocery market share
Changes in consumer shopping habits have had an impact on the grocery market in Northern Ireland, with sales dropping by 1.8% in the year to 30th October 2022.
According to recent statistics from Kantar, grocery inflation now stands at 8.4%, the highest on record as the average price per pack rose by 5.5%. Increases in average prices over the 52 weeks continue to be most noticeable with essential lines, such as margarine up 21.7%, milk up 21% and flour up 17%.
Emer Healy, Senior Retail Analyst at Kantar said: “Shoppers are beginning to return to store more often, with visits up 1.6% compared to this time last year, however they are picking up 8.8% less volume per trip.”
Emer said there was a noticeable drop in seasonal shopping, particularly around Halloween, but shoppers are still focusing on making the most of Christmas.
“Over the latest 12 weeks, grocery sales grew by 3.7% as shoppers returned to store more often (5.4%) and average prices increased by 8%. Shoppers in Northern Ireland pulled back on Halloween festivities this year as pumpkin sales declined by 33.1%, but their focus is clearly on the Christmas period as gifting chocolates, mince pies and fresh bacon joints sales soar by 29.8%, 29.3% and 20% respectively.
“Tesco maintained its position at the top of the table and is Northern Ireland’s largest grocer with a 35.6% share of the market. Tesco welcomed an influx of new shoppers in store which contributed an additional £46m to their overall performance,” added Emer.
Lidl and Total Symbols are the only retail outlets to see growth versus last year up 0.2% and 5.4% respectively, as all other retailers declined. Lidl continues to see the strongest boost of new shoppers up by 4.8 percentage points which contributed an additional £16.5m to their overall performance.
Sainsbury’s holds a 17% share and saw a 1.6 percentage point rise in new shoppers. Asda holds 16.4% of the market this period and welcomed new shoppers in store contributing an additional £4.2m to their overall performance.
