DUNNES STORES AND SuperValu are tied for the title of Ireland’s top grocer.

That’s according to new data from consumer knowledge firm Kantar Worldpanel Ireland, which found that the two supermarket giants now share 22.5% of the Irish grocery market each.

Kantar director David Berry said the ability of SuperValu to catch up with Dunnes Stores ahead of Christmas is “a real testament to just how competitive this marketplace is”.

He also noted that with the seasonal Christmas shopping blitz in full swing, just a fraction of a percentage point separates the country’s three largest retailers – Dunnes, SuperValu and Tesco – in the supermarkets league.

Kantar Worldpanel Ireland Kantar Worldpanel Ireland

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Tesco’s turnaround

According to Kantar’s research – which surveyed the shopping habits of 5,000 households during the 12 weeks to 4 December – SuperValu increased its sales by 1% during the last 12 weeks, with shoppers spending an extra €1 on every shop visit.

Compared to the same 12-week last year, Dunnes saw shoppers spend an additional €3 on their average weekly shopping trip, which is now €39.50.

Despite seeing a drop of 0.6 percentage points in its market share, Tesco saw sales increase by 1.2%, its first positive growth since March of this year.

“In the past quarter, we’ve seen evidence of Tesco’s turnaround,” Berry said. “An additional 10,000 households have chosen to shop with Tesco in 2016 and are returning to the retailer more frequently – a clear positive sign for the grocer.”

The German supermarkets, Lidl and Aldi, each share just over 11% of the market and saw healthy sales growth. The latter posted the strongest sales growth of all the retailers with sales up more than 6% compared to the same time last year.

Other outlets – including Marks & Spencer, Spar, independent greengrocers and cross-border shops – collectively increased their share of the market by half a percentage point to 11%.

Dunnes was the only outlet that saw branded products perform better than own-label goods.

Written by Conor McMahon and posted on Fora.ie

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