The latest analysis on the Irish grocery market from Kantar shows that annual grocery inflation continued to be relatively high at 4.96% in the 12 weeks to 18 May.

While this is well below the levels seen in the wake of the pandemic, it is 2.4 percentage points above the level seen in the same period in 2024.

Business development director at Kantar Emer Healy said: “Rising prices are influencing both sales performance and consumer behaviour.

"Although households have been adjusting their spending for some time now, what we’re seeing is a clear ‘tipping point’ when inflation goes above 3% to 4%. This is when shoppers really start to feel it in their wallets and they change their behaviour.”

Healy noted that supermarkets are having to be more creative in the way they attract shoppers, both instore and online.

This can be seen in the data produced by Kantar, which shows €124m was spent by consumers on items on promotion over the 12 weeks covered by the report.

Branded goods

That being said, branded goods continue to hold the highest value share of the total market at 47.4%.

The other notable finding in the report is the rise in purchases of outdoor dining essentials. The fine weather at the start of May saw shoppers spend €14m more on barbecue and summer fare than in the same period last year.

Of the major supermarket chains, Dunnes continues to hold the number one spot at 23.8% market share, with Tesco a close second at 23.3%. Discounters Lidl and Aldi have 13.8% and 11.7% respectively.