Majella Fahey, Business Development Manager, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board
According to the latest Kantar Worldpanel, the ROI grocery market is in growth in both value & volume terms, but value is growing at a faster pace and increased by 3.0% in 2018. Household spend increased by +2.5% as shopper’s trade up to more expensive items. Inflation at 1.5% is at its highest point since Oct ’16. All these factors contributed to market growth with inflation making the most impact.
All Grocery sectors are in growth over 52 weeks, with Alcohol and Healthcare showing the strongest growth. Dunnes wins Christmas with a 23.0% market share. Tesco is in second place with 22.3% while SuperValu’s share drops back to 21.8%. Aldi has a higher share than Lidl at 10.8%.
Branded share grew ahead of PL over Christmas, increasing the share gap between them considerably. Branded sales continue to contribute the most to Total Market growth with all retailers showing growth through brands. (Kantar World Panel, 2018)
The latest Mintel research tells us that Irish supermarkets Tesco, Dunnes and SuperValu continue to be the dominant force in the grocery industry, however, they have been losing share in recent years, as discounters continue to gain market share. Around half of Irish consumers agree that there is little difference in the quality of products between supermarket and discount retailers – highlighting the obstacles supermarkets face when trying to compete.
When looking at branded vs own-label, Mintel’s research found that with regular weekly purchases such as fruit and vegetables and dairy (eg milk), consumers sought to cut costs opting for own-label variants but when it comes to treat items purchased less frequently, consumers opted for branded products in categories such as alcoholic drinks, crisps and chocolate confectionery. (Mintel, 2018)
References:
Kantar World Panel ROI GROCERY MARKET REVIEW Data to December 30th 2018
Mintel Supermarket Retailing / Brand Importance - Ireland, November 2018