Despite erratic summer weather, Irish shoppers spend an additional €57m on groceries

IRE GMS - P7 Hero
Emer Healy 2020
Emer Healy

Business Development Manager, Worldpanel Division

Article

While grocery price inflation continued to rise, up from 5.3% in the last 12-week period to 5.4%, shoppers have been enjoying everything the Irish summer has to offer.

Irish shoppers contributed an additional €57.4 million to the market’s overall performance, with take-home value sales up 5.2% over the four weeks to 13 July 2025, according to the latest grocery data from Worldpanel by Numerator. Despite the weather going from warm and sunny to wetter than average, shoppers visited stores around 22 times in July, picking up less packs per trip, down 0.6% versus last year.

While grocery price inflation continued to rise, up from 5.3% in the last 12-week period to 5.43%, shoppers have been enjoying everything the Irish summer has to offer. A combined extra €46.2 million year-on-year was spent in July on suncare, smoothies, ice cream, pickles, soft drinks, antipasti and fresh fruit. 

With schools now officially out for summer and many people enjoying the holidays, convenience is key when it comes to meal choices. Shoppers spent almost €1 million extra on both fresh and frozen ready meals compared to last year. This is despite a rise in average prices, which impacts shopper behaviour. What we are seeing is much more caution from Irish consumers who actively seek out promotions to get the best deal.

Shoppers spent €756 million on promotional lines during the latest 12-week period, a 9.4% increase compared to the previous year. Key growth categories included pre-mixed alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, frozen confectionery and frozen fruit, all growing ahead of the total market for promotional lines.  

Shoppers reach for nostalgic products as brands' value share slows

Over the latest 12-week period, brands have grown behind the total market (+5.8%) with growth slowing to 3.7%. Despite this, shoppers still spent an additional €59 million on branded products. Own label saw stronger growth over the 12 weeks at 6.7% with premium own label the standout performer, up 16.2%. Shoppers spent nearly €20 million extra on these ranges. 

Brands currently hold 46.5% value share of the total market with own label at 47.9% value share. 

Our latest Brand Footprint report*** shows that Irish shoppers still favour nostalgic brands. Over the course of 2024, 39 brands experienced growth in Consumer Reach Points – a metric that considers the number of buyers and how often they buy a product – compared to just 27 in 2023, indicating a more favourable environment for brand growth. We have seen lots of brands with Irish heritage featuring high in the rankings including Brennan’s, Avonmore & Tayto.

Retailer and channel performance: Lidl hits records market share

Total online holds 5.7% value share of the market, with sales rising by 8.1% year-on-year, and shoppers spending an additional €15 million through this channel. Over the latest 12-week period, shoppers purchased their groceries more often online, up 8.5%, contributing €15.7 million to its overall performance.

Over the latest 12 weeks, Dunnes holds 23.4% market share, with sales growth of 6.9% year-on-year. Dunnes shoppers returned to store more often, up 3.5%, which contributed €27.1 million to their overall performance.

Tesco holds 23.2% of the market, with value growth of 5.7% year-on-year. Shoppers increased their trips to store by 3.7%, which contributed €28.5 million to overall performance.

SuperValu holds 20.2% of the market with growth of 4.8%. Consumers made the most shopping trips to this grocer, averaging 25 trips over the latest 12 weeks. This increase in the number of shopping trips contributed an additional €62.8 million to its performance.

Lidl holds a new record market share of 14.2% with value growth of 9%. Lidl also saw shoppers pick up more volume in store, up 4.6%, contributing an additional €20.8 million to overall performance. Aldi holds 12% market share, up 5.6%. Increased store trips and new shoppers drove an additional €24.6 million in sales.  

***Worldpanel by Numerator's Brand Footprint is a global study that examines which brands consumers choose to purchase and the reasons behind their choices. The metric used in the study, known as Consumer Reach Points (CRP), takes into account a brand's penetration and frequency, as well as the number of households in the country. CRPs provide the most comprehensive measurement available of how often a brand is selected from retailers' shelves. The data in this report covers the 52-week period ending in October 2024. 

IRE GMS Dataviz - P7 July 2025

 

 
gms-data-viz

Grocery Market Share Data Visualisation

See what is happening to the grocery market in the UK, Ireland and other parts of the world.
View data viz
Get in touch