According to retail analysts, Kantar, this was up 9.7% year-on-year.

The average household spent an all-time high of £5598, up £482 year-on-year, with shoppers visiting stores more often, making an average of five more trips than last year. However, the number of packs bought continues to fall year-on-year by 0.6%.

Grocery inflation now stands at 10.7% for April, the seventh consecutive month of decline and a level last seen in February 2023.

Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Kantar said that although inflation levels are falling, they are still exceptionally high, especially when compared to the Republic of Ireland (2.9%) and Great Britain (3.2%).

“Consumers in Northern Ireland are still facing significant pressures on their household budgets, making the landscape as competitive as ever,” said Emer.

“Retailers are putting emphasis on own-label lines and promotions to attract shoppers through the door. Nearly 22% of sales in April were made through a promotional offer, a level this high has not been seen since October 2020.”

Own-label remains popular as shoppers tighten the purse strings, growing by 10.9% year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional £183 million on these ranges versus last year. Brands grew slightly behind the market at 9.5% year-on-year and hold 54.4% value market share.

“Shoppers in Northern Ireland indulged in all things chocolate this Easter and spent an additional £4.2 million on confectionery, up 7.2% versus last year,” added Emer.

“That was even stronger for Easter eggs, which were up 16.8% year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional £2.1 million compared to last year. Over 67% of Northern Irish households purchased an Easter egg over the 12 weeks to 14^th April.”

Meanwhile, Tesco maintains its position at the top of the table and is Northern Ireland’s largest grocer with a 35.1% share of the market, up 10.3%. Tesco welcomed more frequent trips, which contributed an additional £97.3 million to their overall performance.

Lidl holds 9.2% market share, up 13% year-on-year. Lidl welcomed new shoppers in store alongside more frequent trips, which contributed £13.7 million to their overall performance.

Sainsbury’s holds 16.9% share, up 12.6%. More frequent trips contributed an additional £143 million to their overall performance. Asda holds 16.1% of the market, up 10.7% this period and saw a boost in frequency and new shoppers, which contributed an additional £16.5 million to their overall performance.

The post Easter delights drive record spending on confectionery in Northern Ireland first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

After a two-year low in February, total sales increased by 3.5% in March, ahead of the 2.1% three-month average growth, and above the 12-month average of 2.9%.

Non-food sales decreased 1.9% year-on-year over the three months to March, against a growth of 1.8% in March 2023.

As Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium outlined, the early Easter also boosted sales of products such as cookware and tableware.

“After a difficult start to the year, retailers are hopeful that with warmer weather around the corner, consumer confidence will spring back up,” said Ms Dickinson.

“A strong retail industry can boost investment across our towns and cities, and as we gear up for a general election, it is essential the next government recognises this and rethinks the burdensome costs imposed on retailers.”

UK Head of Consumer Markets, Leisure & Retail at KPMG, Linda Ellett added Easter showed “green shoots of spring for retailers in March” however she also urged caution.

“As April signals big increases in the sector’s cost base – through the rise in minimum wage rates and business rate hikes for the larger high street brands – retailers will be hoping that the bounce back of March sales is more than just an Easter blip,” said Ms Ellett.

“Economic indicators are heading in the right direction with inflationary pressures easing and interest rates having potentially peaked, however consumer confidence remains fragile, and households continue to keep a close eye on where their tight budgets are being spent.”

Sarah Bradbury CEO at IGD said the UK grocery market benefited from Easter falling in March this year.

“This has led to very positive comparisons with spending increasing on March 2023, and importantly significant volume growth,” said Ms Bradbury.

“This marks the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year volume growth, offering hope to retailers and suppliers of finally being able to regrow margins that have shrunk during the cost-of-living crisis.

“At a total level, shoppers have a growing confidence in their financial outlook, however the strength of this growth varies by household income. For lower income households, confidence is growing at a slower rate despite news of an almost 10% increase to the National Living Wage.

“For all shoppers, we expect the cautious approach to continue as cost-of-living challenges remain.”

The post Early Easter gives positive sales boost first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Chocoholics across the country can indulge in Lidl Northern Ireland’s expanded range of Deluxe large and medium sized eggs, incorporating a mix of much-loved family favourites and some egg-citing new flavour options this Easter, starting from just £4.49.

Rebecca Buchanan, Senior Buyer at Lidl Ireland and Nothern Ireland said: “With hundreds of thousands of Easter eggs sold across our Northern Irish store network last year, we’re predicting shoppers will take an even bigger bite this year from our expanded range of premier Deluxe 100% Irish eggs.

“Easter is an important time for family celebration and our quality range of locally handcrafted Irish eggs are real family favourites. We’re excited to expand our range this year with some great new flavours and sizes, which we’re sure will go down a treat.

“With Easter just around the corner, we’re delighted to roll out our sumptuous full range of chocolate eggs in-store from this week. As Northern Ireland’s best value retailer, we’re confident shoppers can find the perfect celebration egg for their palette and enjoy premium luxury at value price this Easter.”

This Easter, shoppers can enjoy the indulgence of premium Deluxe chocolate with a taste of home as all of Lidl Northern Ireland’s Deluxe eggs have been handcrafted exclusively for the retailer by Cavan-based Áine’s Handmade Chocolates.

The chocolatier has been supplying Lidl Northern Ireland for the last four years and in that time has tripled its supply of Easter Eggs and continues to supply seasonal chocolates throughout the year as part of a wider supply deal valued at more than half a million euro.

The post Lidl NI rolls out its 2024 Easter egg range first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Launches of new seasonal Easter chocolate products have increased by 19% over the last 12 months, with this year set to be a bumper year for Easter treats.

When it comes to regional launch activity, the UK is officially top of the chocs leading the way in Easter innovation globally. From March 2022 to February 2023, the UK was responsible for an impressive one in eight (16%) Easter chocolate launches, leaving chocolate lovers spoilt for choice.

Easter innovation has come on leaps and bounds in the UK according to the research, as the number of Easter-specific launches has grown almost 40% over the past two years.

Overall, Easter innovation accounts for 41% of all seasonal chocolate launches.

SUSTAINABLE ATTRIBUTES

The Mintel research also found that over the last 12 months, nearly three in five (57%) of Easter chocolate launches globally carried an environmental/ethical claim, up from less than half (48%) the previous year.

However, while the confectionary industry continues to respond to a number of sustainability issues, consumers are not as enthusiastic about sustainable attributes.

In the UK, ethical certification (9%) does not rank highly among chocolate purchase factors compared to other criteria, such as a favourite flavour (37%) or interesting texture (16%). Meanwhile, a quarter (25%) of UK chocolate lovers would be enticed by recyclable packaging.

Director of Insight, Mintel Food and Drink, Marcia Mogelonsky said: “Following several subdued years of Easter celebrations, chocolate lovers are set to enjoy an impressive array of chocolate eggs and novelties this Easter.

“As the world becomes more relaxed about social gatherings, celebrations will be more plentiful, sparking improved revenue for seasonal chocolates, especially those linked with an interactive component, like Easter egg hunts.”

The post Cracking Easter innovation: increase in Easter chocolate launches since 2022 first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Nicolas Neykov, the head of Ferrero France, said the contamination came “from a filter located in a vat for dairy butter”, at a factory in Arlon in Belgium.

He said the contamination could have been caused by humans or raw materials.

Chocolate products made at the factory in Arlon, southeastern Belgium, were found to contain salmonella, resulting in dozens of cases in several European countries.

The factory’s closure and the health concerns were blows to its owner, Italian confectionery giant Ferrero, coming at the height of the Easter holiday season when its Kinder chocolates are sought-after supermarket buys.

“This crisis is heartbreaking. It’s the biggest removal of products in the last 20 years,” Mr Neykov said.

But the company hoped to be able to start up the factory again, with 50% of health and safety inspections to be carried out by an approved “external laboratory” in the future, instead of the previous system of only internal reviews.

“We have asked for a reopening from June 13 to relaunch production as soon as possible,” he added.

The post 3,000 tonnes of Kinder products withdrawn after salmonella contamination first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.