And despite people make 5.5% fewer trips to stores, they bought more on each visit, thus adding £86.7 million to overall market growth.

Grocery inflation now stands at 4.82%, up from 4.22% last month.

As December got underway, shoppers got into the festive mood, spending an extra £16 million on champagne, wine, biscuits and chocolate confectionery in the latest 12 weeks.

“Branded goods continue to perform well, with spending up £53.8 million, which is a 2.2% year-on-year increase, lifting their value share to 55.2%” said Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator.

“Own-label ranges also grew, up 1.4% as shoppers spent an extra £25.5 million, taking their value share to 42.9%.

“To make their budgets go further, consumers are mixing own-label choices with promotions,” added Emer. “Discounted items now account for 24.4% of value sales, a new record for Northern Ireland, with more than £1 billion spent on promotions overall.”

Meanwhile, Tesco remains Northern Ireland’s largest grocer, increasing its market share to 38.1%, its highest share on record. Its growth came from both new shoppers and bigger baskets, adding £113 million. Sainsbury’s follows with a 17% share, up 3.7% year-on-year, helped by new shopper recruitment worth £38.1 million.

Asda holds a 15% value share, while Lidl increased its share to 9.4%, up 5.4% after attracting new shoppers who contributed £13.1 million in additional spend.

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In the year to 13^th July 2025, £4.4 billion was spent in Northern Ireland’s grocery sector, representing a 1.7% increase compared to the previous year.

Although shoppers made 2.4% fewer trips to stores, they bought more items per visit, subsequently contributing an additional £77.9 million to overall market growth.

Meanwhile grocery inflation now stands at 2.97%, up from 2.79% last month.

The new figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show that as schools broke up for the summer holidays and many people took time off, convenience became a priority.

“The arrival of sunnier days encouraged shoppers to indulge in seasonal favourites, leading to an extra £12.8 million spent on antipasti, wine and chocolate,” said Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator.

“Over the 12-week period, an additional £1.6 million was spent on prepared fruit and vegetables, as well as frozen ready meals,” added Emer.

Spending on branded goods rose by £38 million, a 1.6% year-on-year increase, raising branded value share to 54.8%. Own-label products also performed well, growing by 1.8% with an extra £33 million spent. These now account for 43.3% of the market by value.

To make the most of their budgets, many consumers turned to a mix of own-label items and promotional offers. Promotions remain a key feature of the market, accounting for 22.9% of value sales. This is the highest level recorded to date in Northern Ireland, with £1 billion spent on discounted products.

Meanwhile, Tesco retains the largest market share at 37.1%, up 7.1% from last year. This growth was driven by both new customer acquisition and increased purchasing from existing shoppers alongside larger trips, contributing £59 million to its overall performance.

Sainsbury’s holds a 16.7% market share, up 0.5% year-on-year. A rise in shopper numbers and basket size helped boost its performance by £44.2 million.

Asda holds 15.7% value share this period, while Lidl’s market share rose to 9.2%, an increase of 2.9%, as the retailer attracted new customers and existing ones shopped more frequently. This resulted in a combined uplift of £12.9 million.

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New figures have revealed that grocery price inflation accelerated again, sitting at 5.2%, hitting the highest level since January 2024, while take-home sales at the grocers grew by 5.4% in the four weeks to 13^th July, according to Worldpanel (formerly Kantar).

With just under two thirds of households concerned about the cost of their food shop, their fears may well be realised with the prediction by Worldpanel that this latest rise could add almost £300 to their annual food bill if shopping habits remain the same.

Head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, Fraser McKevitt said that people are adapting their habits in an attempt to avoid the full impact of price rises.

“Own label products, which are often cheaper, continue to be some of the big winners and in fact, sales of these ranges are again outpacing brands, growing by 5.6% versus 4.9%,” said Fraser.

“These inflationary worries aren’t just changing what we buy, but how we prepare it too. We often see people choosing to make simpler meals when they are trying to save money and today, almost seven in 10 dinner plates include fewer than six components.”

With budgets under pressure, supermarkets have been finding new ways to pique the interest of consumers, with innovation absolutely vital to help grocers keep up with new trends and make sure they’re meeting shoppers’ needs as behaviours and priorities shift.

“The drinks aisle in particular seems to be offering up plenty of inspiration,” added Fraser.

“Iced coffee has soared in popularity in recent years and with summer temperatures rising, sales were up this month by 81%. No and low alcohol drinks continue their gradual march into the mainstream too, with nearly seven in every 100 households buying a product this month, pushing sales up by 21%.”

Meanwhile, Lidl reached a record high market share this period at 8.3%, gaining 0.5 percentage points as it attracted more than half a million new customers to its stores.

Tesco also boosted its share to 28.3% as sales grew by 7.1%, the fastest rate since December 2023, while sales at Sainsbury’s increased by 5.3%, putting its market share at 15.1%. Convenience specialist, Co-op takes 5.2% of the market, and frozen expert Iceland holds 2.2% of grocery spending.

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In the year to 15^th June, £4.4 billion was spent in the Northern Ireland grocery sector, and while shoppers made 2.1% fewer trips to stores, they bought more items per visit, subsequently adding £66.8 million to overall market growth.

The latest figures from Kantar also show that grocery inflation now stands at 2.79%, up from 2.55% last month.

The arrival of warmer weather encouraged shoppers to indulge in seasonal favourites, resulting in an additional £17 million spent on antipasti, suncare, wine, bottled water, squash and frozen treats.

Spending on branded goods rose by £42.4 million, a 1.8% year-on-year increase, pushing branded value share to 54.9%. Own-label products also performed well, growing by 1.7% with an additional £30.9 million spent. These products now represent 43.2% of the market by value.

“To make the most of their budgets, many consumers turned to a mix of own-label and promotional offers,” said Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Kantar.

“Promotions remain a key part of the market, accounting for 22.7% of value sales, with nearly £1 billion spent on discounted items.”

Looking at supermarket share, Tesco retains the largest market share at 37%, up 7% from last year. This growth was driven by both new customer acquisition and increased purchasing from existing shoppers alongside larger trips, contributing £46 million to its overall performance.

Sainsbury’s holds a 16.7% market share, up 0.4% year-on-year. A rise in shopper numbers and basket size helped boost its performance by £68.5 million.

Meanwhile Asda, with a 15.9% share, also grew by 0.4%, benefiting from increased store visits which added £3.1 million in sales. Lidl’s market share rose to 9.2%, an increase of 2.7%, as the retailer attracted new customers and existing ones shopped more frequently. This resulted in a combined uplift of £12.9 million.

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This means the average annual grocery bill is set to rise by £420 from £5600 to £6020, if consumers don’t change their shopping habits, marketing analysts, Kantar reports.

A month filled with sports led to Northern Ireland shoppers spending an additional £3.3 million on take-home savouries and £4 million on beer and lager compared to last year. Colder than average days in July led to an 8.8% increase in sales of cold treatments and shoppers spending €351k more on soup versus to last year, whereas sales of sun preparations fell by 13.8%.

Although inflation levels are falling, they are still high and consumers in Northern Ireland are still facing significant pressures on their household budgets, making the landscape as competitive as ever. Own-label remains popular as shoppers tighten their purse strings, growing ahead of the total market at 6.8% year-on-year, with shoppers spending an additional £119 million on these ranges compared to last year. Also, over 22% of sales were made through a promotional offer, a level not seen since October 2020.

‘Take-home grocery sales grew, with shoppers visiting stores more often’

Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Kantar said: “In the year to 7^th July 2024, £4.25 billion ran through the tills, up 6.4%, which is an additional £256.7 million compared to last year.

“Take-home grocery sales grew, with shoppers visiting stores more often, on average over one more trip than last year, though the number of packs they picked up grew only marginally by 0.4%.”

Meanwhile, Tesco maintains its position at the top of the table and is Northern Ireland’s largest grocer, with a 35.4% share of the market, up 7.2%. Tesco welcomed more frequent trips, which contributed an additional £85.3 million to their overall performance.

Lidl holds a 9.2% market share, up 7% year-on-year. The discounter welcomed new shoppers in store, contributing an additional £3 million to their overall performance.

Sainsbury’s holds a 16.9% share, up 8.9%, and welcomed more frequent trips, contributing an additional £128 million to their overall performance, while Asda holds 16.2% of the market, up 7.8% this period, and also saw a boost in new shoppers and larger trips, contributing an additional £37.5 million overall.

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