Dunnes Stores has reclaimed the top spot in the Irish grocery market for the first time since February this year, according to the latest grocery market share figures. The figures from Kantar Worldpanel which deal will with the 12 weeks ending 7 October 2018, Dunnes possessed 22.1%, due in part to strong sales growth of 3.4%.

Consumer insight director Douglas Faughnan says “Dunnes traditionally performs strongly over the festive period and the retailer may feel like Christmas has come early this year. While it is too soon to assess the full impact of its new Everyday Savers offer, which prices many own brand everyday items at a euro or less, Dunnes’ continued focus on shopper campaigns has helped to attract an extra 14,000 shoppers this period.”

After six consecutive periods at the top, Tesco was the second-largest supermarket, accounting for 21.5% of total grocery sales. With online grocery sales up 15% compared to this time last year, the retailer has looked to increase its dominance of online grocery in Ireland by introducing new e-commerce initiatives. Douglas Faughnan continues: “Tesco’s recent announcement of free delivery for over 65s when they spend €50 or more shows it is looking to further cash in on the growth of online shopping in Ireland. Although just 2.4% of grocery retailing comes through e-commerce at present, this figure is forecast to hit 5.0% by 2022, and retailers are now looking at new ways to capture their fair share of the online pie.”

SuperValu had 21.4% of Irish grocery sales. Douglas Faughnan explains the contrast of how the retailer performs in Dublin vs Munster. “Although SuperValu holds a 26.0% share in its Munster heartland, the retailer is less represented in Dublin, where it only accounts for 19.4% of sales. By contrast, Tesco and Dunnes perform more strongly in the capital, with shares of 23.6% and 26.1% respectively. SuperValu’s owner Musgraves will be hoping its recent acquisition of the Donnybrook Fair retail chain can help secure more footing in the capital.

For the discount retailers, Aldi have achieved a record market share of 11.8%, due in part to sales growth of 4.5%. The retailer’s Swap & Save campaign, which challenges shoppers to see how much they could save by switching to Aldi, has clearly made a difference to sales figures. The grocery chain attracted an additional 28,000 shoppers, with family shoppers accounting for over 80% of its growth.