DUNNES STORES IS close to being Ireland’s biggest supermarket, despite fewer people shopping there.

That is because the chain has become a favourite of those doing their “big shop”.

In total, the figures from Kantar Worldpanel show that the Irish grocery market has grown by 1.4% in the last year, with Dunnes up 8.2% in the last 12 weeks.

That was closely followed by Lidl, who grew 7.7%.

The Dunnes growth is largely down to fewer people spending more, says David Berry of Kantar.

“Dunnes’ success is in large part thanks to the continuation of its ‘Shop and Save’ campaign. Although fewer people have shopped with the retailer this period, these customers have been encouraged to spend more, with the average shop now costing €34.50 – an increase of more than €5.”

Tesco remains Ireland’s largest supermarket in terms of market share, but is now just 2.4 percentage points ahead of Dunnes and 2.3% of all SuperValu.

Tesco’s recovery comes from an influx of new shoppers, Berry says.

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