Shoppers were in a celebratory mood for Valentine’s Day, spending an additional £2.6 million on champagne and sparkling wine and a further £2.3 million on wine.

However, as the latest insight from Worldpanel by Numerator show, convenience was still front and centre for NI shoppers, with 55% of households buying pre-made pancakes and spending £4.2 million on the category in total this Pancake Day.

And despite the uptick in sales, trips to stores declined further, down 8.1% on last year – however shoppers are purchasing more each trip, adding an additional £114 million to the market.

As Eimear Faughnan, Head of Retail for Ireland at Worldpanel by Numerator, points out, over the last 12 weeks shoppers have been stocking up for key seasonal events.

“Shoppers sought convenience and affordable options during this period, with frozen ready meals featuring more in baskets and the number of packs bought increasing by 15.5%, adding £505,000 to the category,” said Eimear.

“Healthy topping options for pancakes, including blueberries and strawberries gained new shoppers, increasing by 6.7 and 2.0 percentage points respectively.”

Despite a backdrop of higher prices, branded goods maintained their lead over own label, with 55.6% value share of the market – up 3.7%, or an additional £87.3 million.

“It is a different picture for own label this year, which grew marginally by 0.1%, adding £1.2 million,” added Eimear. “Premium was the standout performer within own label ranges, growing by 10.8%.

“There were more promotions on offer this year, as grocers looked to attract shoppers. Packs on promotion held 23.4% market value share, up 3.2 percentage points on last year. Overall, shoppers spent an additional £234 million on promotions compared to the same time last year.”

Meanwhile, Tesco remains Northern Ireland’s largest grocer, growing its share of the market by 2.2 percentage points over the four weeks, to 38.7%. This growth came from both new shoppers and bigger baskets, adding £123 million to its performance.

Sainsbury’s follows with a 17.3% share, up 5.7% year-on-year, while Asda now holds 14.6% value share this period. Lidl increased its share to 9.6%, up by 6.7%, welcoming new shoppers and seeing existing customers continue to buy more per trip, contributing a combined uplift of just over £10 million.

The post NI shoppers seek romantic treats at home, increasing take-home sales first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

While people visited stores less often than in 2024, they bought more each time, adding an extra £71 million to the market. Meanwhile, sales reached a record £4.44 billion in December as shoppers treated themselves over the festive period.

New data from Worldpanel by Numerator also shows that grocery inflation now stands at 6.2%, up from 4.82% last month.

Shoppers celebrated in style this Christmas, with Monday 22^nd December proving the busiest day in stores as households stocked up for the big day. In the run-up to Christmas, an extra £30.4 million was spent on alcohol, pastries, chocolate, savoury snacks and soft drinks.

Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator, Emer Healy said promotions played a bigger role than ever.

“Shoppers in Northern Ireland saw a boost in typical Christmas fare and a combined £6.7 million was spent on Champagne, turkey, Brussels sprouts and parsnips as many tucked into a traditional Christmas dinner,” said Emer.

“Branded goods continued to perform well, with spending up £72.3 million, a 3% year-on-year increase, lifting their value share to 55% as shoppers turned to brands they know and trust. Own-label ranges also grew, up 0.9%, with an extra £16 million spent, taking their share to 42.7% of the market by value.

“Promotions played a bigger role than ever, with discounted items now accounting for 25.6% of value sales, a new record in Northern Ireland. In total, shoppers spent over £1.1 billion on promotions.”

Meanwhile, Tesco remains Northern Ireland’s largest grocer, growing its market share to 38.4%, its highest level on record, up 8.5% on last year. This growth came from both new shoppers and bigger baskets, adding £104 million to its performance.

Sainsbury’s follows with a 17.1% share, up 4.5% year-on-year, boosted by new shopper recruitment worth £26.2 million.

Asda holds a 14.9% value share this period, while Lidl increased its share to 9.5%, up 6.2%. Lidl welcomed new shoppers and saw existing customers buying more per trip, contributing an uplift of £15.6 million.

The post £4.43bn Christmas spend fuels Northern Ireland grocery growth first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Grocery inflation eased slightly to 4.3%, offering modest relief to shoppers, who on average spent £476 at the supermarkets in December – an additional £15 in comparison to December 2024.

The latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator reveals that spending on promotions and deals reached its highest levels since before the pandemic at 33.3%, while supermarket premium own-label sales exceeded £1 billion for the first time.

As anticipated, Monday 22^nd December was the busiest day for grocery sales, however shoppers made the most trips on Tuesday 23^rd December, spending less but topping up on last-minute festive essentials.

While traditional, large format supermarkets accounted for 60.3% of sales over the four-week period to 28^th December, discounter retailers saw their biggest ever share of sales at Christmas, reaching a total of 16.8%. Online retail grew also at 7.5%, reaching a total share of 12.2%.

Notably, chocolate remained one of the top purchases for consumers, despite higher prices, with chocolate’s exposure to inflationary cocoa process bring the typical price of seasonal tubs to over £5 for the first time. And despite average pack sizes shrinking by 5% down to 551g, these festive favourites remained a tradition with sales rising by 19% in the four weeks to Christmas, with nearly one million shoppers buying into the category.

Fraser McKevitt, Head of Retail and Consumer Insight at Worldpanel by Numerator said easing inflation gave households a little more room to spend.

“It was a Christmas of smart savings and considered choices – almost every household bought into supermarkets’ premium ranges, while price remained front of mind,” he said.

“Over the last five years, the number of households cutting alcohol out of their shopping basket altogether has steadily increased. Alongside this, we’ve seen a rapid rise in sales of low and no-alcohol alternatives. However, the slight dip in the numbers of buyers in December may signal that the category is beginning to mature, while the rise in sales shows that converted households are doubling down on their favourite low and no-alcohol tipples.

“What’s clear is that as consumers, we’re open to more variance during those traditional, festive moments – whether it’s switching the Bucks Fizz for Kombucha or enjoying a classic cocktail alongside a more health-focused option, consumers are finding enjoyment in more choice.”

Meanwhile, Tesco sales were higher than in 2024, with its share rising by 0.2 percentage points to 28.7%, the greatest proportion of the market since March 2015. Lidl made the greatest gain in market share among the supermarkets, adding 0.5 percentage points to claim 7.8% of the market – a record for the discounter over the festive period.

The post Promotions, premium own-label and no alcohol options – consumers’ main Christmas shopping choices revealed first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

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.

The post Northern Ireland grocery sales rise as shoppers prepare for Christmas first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Retailers are ramping up investment in promotions to encourage shoppers through their doors as the march to Christmas is well underway, with sales expected to exceed £13.6 billion in December.

The latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator shows 31.2% of spending as on promoted items, up from 30% this time last year, with retailers pulling out all the stops to win shoppers over as they gear up for one of the most important trading periods of the year.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel said cost was still a major factor in the decisions behind spending for consumers.

“One in five households tell us that they’ve been struggling financially and that’s been largely consistent over the past two years,” said Fraser.

“With the cost of living still biting for many this Christmas, just under one third of all spending is on promotion as supermarkets find ways to shield shoppers from the impact of price rises.”

The emphasis on offers and lower pricing means that the cost of a Christmas dinner for four is a few pence cheaper than last year, at £32.46. However, retailers know that as well as keeping an eye on budgets, consumers also want to indulge during the festive season.

“Retailers are savvy to the fact that at Christmas especially – even when times are tough – consumers still find the space in their wallet to spend on small treats,” said Fraser.

“In fact, we’ve seen that right through the cost of living crisis as people have found new, more affordable ways to indulge in what we call the ‘pick-me-up pound’. The rise and rise of premium own label lines bears this out with one in every £20 now spent on these treat-type products.”

Chocolate prices are up 18.4% on this time last year, but that hasn’t stopped five million households putting a confectionery advent calendar in their basket in November. Similarly, just over one in 10 shoppers fancied a festive tipple and bought a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine over the last month.

Meanwhile, online remains the fastest growing part of the market, with sales up by 8% in November to hit the second highest ever sales in a month since the pandemic high of February 2021. However, bricks and mortar still dominate the grocery sector, and with Christmas falling on a Thursday this year, Monday 22^nd and Tuesday 23^rd are expected to be the busiest shopping days of the year.

Within the retailers, driven by its ninth consecutive month of double-digit sales growth at 10.2%, Lidl made the biggest market share gain, winning an additional 0.5 percentage points compared with last year to reach 8.1%.

Sales at Sainsbury’s rose by 5.1%, bringing its market share to 16.0%. Tesco grew sales by 4.7%, as it attracted 321,000 more shoppers over the 12 weeks versus last year. Britain’s largest grocer now holds 28.3% of the market.

Elsewhere, Iceland grew ahead of the market at 4.0%, maintain shares of 2.3%, while Asda now accounts for 11.5% of the market and Co-op’s share stands at 5.3%. Beyond the grocers, sales of take-home groceries at M&S were 8.9% higher over the 12 weeks compared with the same period in 2024.

The post Consumers still feeling the pinch but willing to indulge in festive perks first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.