Consumers like names they can trust and symbol groups are the perfect combination of local faces with trusted brands, thus encouraging return trade and a relationship between shopper and store.

The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel to 14^th May 2023, shows the Northern Irish grocery market saw sales grow by 8.5% in the year to 11^th June 2023, with shoppers spending an additional £308.4 year-on-year.

With grocery inflation at 16.1% for June, the average grocery bill is set to rise by £840, from £5221 to £6061 if consumers don’t make changes to what they are buying.

But shoppers are savvy, and are continuing to look for ways to manage household bills and as part of this, they are returning to store more often, picking up less each time.

What they are choosing to buy is also changing, as own-label items now account for a bigger share of the sector year-on-year. Indeed some €2.9 billion was spent on own-label groceries in NI in 2022 (estimated), with Mintel noting that 71% of Northern Irish consumers avoided buying premium products due to the cost-of-living crisis in 2022.

“Irish shoppers have felt the impact of increased grocery prices in 2022, and have shifted their shopping behaviour accordingly, with a greater level of consumers reporting that they are avoiding premium brands and many using more own-label brands and discounter retailers,” said Brian O’Connor, Senior Consumer Analyst at Mintel.

Convenience is key and is fast becoming the cornerstone of everyday life. Gone are the corner shops of yesteryear. It’s all about the customer experience – and symbol stores have taken that concept to heart – by making the efficiency and ease of shopping at the core.

The symbol sector has actively capitalised on making the ‘shopper experience’ at the centre of their business ethos – smart, stylish, well lit, clean, clear labelling – with value for money being the driving force – this savvy sense of driving the sector forward has its roots in research, category management, and sound business sense.

THE SHIFT TO SYMBOLS

Retail analysts are identifying a clear shift in consumer behaviour and attitudes that is favouring the convenience sector.

On average, shoppers are returning to store nearly 17 times more, but are picking up less volume -2packs when compared to this time last year.

These new attitudes towards grocery shopping are supporting growth in the convenience sector, meaning retailers should adapt to drive change and keep pace with these new shopper behaviours.

These trends are presenting the symbol sector with a new raft of opportunities. Along with technology developments, it’s a clear response to customer needs and demands. It’s being predicted that these trends are likely to continue to evolve rapidly over the next five to 10 years.

Travel and movement patterns have altered in recent years, with more people working from home, resulting in people travelling on the road at different times of day. These pattern shifts are also changing the way consumers view and use convenience stores – but most importantly, consumers want the assurances and certainty that a recognised symbol secures – that meets their expectations.

THE ’CONSUMER EXPERIENCE’

At the cutting edge of change, the symbol sector is creating great shopping experiences for consumers, alongside the essential services and facilities they are known for.

The Henderson Group, which boasts some 500 stores across Northern Ireland – a mix of company-owned and independent retailers – has committed to significant investments throughout 2023, with a capital programme of over £60 million to be invested.

“We are a successful, independent, family-run, family-owned business and we have an ethos and culture of continual reinvestment to drive the business,” said Paddy Doody, Sales and Marketing Director.

“That’s about partnering with our independent retailers, investing in their business, investing in new stores, investing in promotional and price activity to give better value to the shopper, and investing in our infrastructure.”

‘Shoppers in Northern Ireland spent an additional £6.7 million in symbols versus last year, with 76.7% of Northern Ireland households purchasing their groceries in a symbol group over 2023’

As food and drink prices continue to climb, with average prices up 10.1% compared to last year, the impact on shoppers’ budgets is unavoidable for many Northern Irish consumers.

As shoppers look for ways to manage costs, many are turning to cheaper alternatives such as retailer own-label lines, where sales are up £193 million compared to last year and versus branded products, which are up £119m year-on-year.

All retailers are seeing year-on-year growth in the latest 52 weeks. Total symbols are seeing the slowest growth among retailers, at 2.4% year-on-year.

Shoppers in Northern Ireland spent an additional £6.7 million in symbols versus last year, with 76.7% of Northern Ireland households purchasing their groceries in a symbol group over 2023.

On average shoppers pick up groceries in a symbol group 65.3 times over the course of the year, which is down only slightly, at 0.1% on last year.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Retailers will need to continue to make efforts to be more sustainable, as 78% of Northern Irish consumers noted they consider their lifestyle to be environmentally friendly to at least some degree, notes Mintel.

Some 71% of Northern Irish consumers believe that unless there are changes from big businesses, the planet cannot be saved. As such, grocery retailers that can successfully display green/ethical initiatives to support sustainability, will likely appeal more to shoppers.

With more consumers struggling to justify ‘splashing out’, adding a sustainable angle to grocery shopping may help to alleviate any ‘buyers’ guilt that consumers might feel in splashing out in a time where they may feel they need to deny themselves luxuries.

Having set out to achieve a 12% carbon reduction by the end of 2023, SuperValu and Centra retailers have achieved a 9% carbon reduction, a year on from the launch of the €25m Musgrave Sustainability Fund.

In June last year, Musgrave announced the first of its kind €25 million sustainability fund aimed at realising this target and reducing emissions across its operations, ultimately to achieve net zero by 2040. In order to reduce emissions to net zero by 2040, Musgrave is aiming to achieve a 46% reduction in carbon emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030.

Ian Allen, Managing Director of SuperValu and Centra said: “Our stores are at the heart of communities around Ireland, and we are proud that our network of SuperValu and Centra retailers are on track to reach our carbon reduction goal by the end of this year.

“Our retailers have shown real passion and enthusiasm to continue to lead by example and implement sustainability measures across their leading supermarket and convenience stores.”

Retailer Philip Woods, who operates four SuperValu and Centra stores in the Armagh and Portadown areas, has invested £660,000 to reduce his store’s carbon emissions and make them more sustainable, supporting brand owner Musgrave Northern Ireland’s sustainability goals.

Investing in new energy efficient refrigeration, LED lighting, and solar panels, the retailer has also been supported by Musgrave NI’s £3.6 million Sustainability Fund.

Mr Woods is the first retailer in Musgrave NI’s network to use the Sustainability Fund for solar panels, which have been installed by local company Solmatix into SuperValu Fruitfield, Richhill and Tandragee, plus Centra Dobbin Road.

The solar panels will reduce carbon emissions by saving a predicted 49 tonnes of CO2 across the four sites each year helping to achieve Musgrave NI’s overall target of net zero carbon by 2040. This is the equivalent to planting 1,856 trees.

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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.

The post Symbol retailers post biggest increase in Northern Ireland grocery market share first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

“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%.”

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The latest market figures for grocery in Northern Ireland show an excellent increase of almost eight per cent across the last 52 weeks – but the latest available figures for the last 12 weeks show a sharp decline of just under 7%.

Symbols hold their own with continued strong performance – with 8.2% total market share – an overall increase in value terms of 14.2% on the same period two years ago.

“The Northern Irish grocery market grew by 7.9% in the 52 weeks to 16 May 2021. A shorter-term view paints a slightly different picture, however, as in the latest 12 weeks sales declined by 6.9%. The fall comes as we compare the market to the height of the first national lockdown in 2020, which saw record-breaking grocery spending in Northern Ireland” said Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar.

“As hospitality begins to open again, people no longer have to rely on the supermarkets for all of their meals and we have seen trips to the grocers fall by 1.7%. With drinking in the pub back on the cards, people also spent £14 million less on off-trade alcohol in the past 12 weeks compared with this time last year.

Tesco still on top                       

“Over the 52-week period, Tesco remained Northern Ireland’s biggest grocer. It held 35.5% of the market, grew by 8.6% and boosted its sales by an extra £102.6 million. The average basket size at Tesco jumped by 18.7%, equivalent to each person picking up nearly three extra items – the highest growth rate among all the retailers.

Sainsbury’s holds it own

“Sainsbury’s maintained its position as the second largest retailer, growing 6.7% and increasing its takings by £39 million as shoppers checked out with bigger baskets and made more frequent trips. Asda’s sales rose by 7.3% this period.

Lidl’s growth steals the show

“Lidl’s growth reached an impressive 16.5% as it remained the fastest growing retailer. This was largely driven by consumers buying more per trip, helping it to add £34.5 million to its sales.”

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The post Peaks and troughs – Spike in NI Grocery Sales Drops Off with Return of Hospitality first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.