The Irish grocery retail sector witnessed robust growth during October 2024, marking it as the highest-performing month of the year to date. According to the latest data from research firm Kantar, grocery sales in Ireland rose by 6.4% compared to the previous year, reaching a total of €1.16 billion in the four weeks leading up to 3 November 2024.

In an encouraging sign for consumers, grocery inflation also showed a significant decrease, dropping by 6.15 percentage points to 3.3% from the same period last year. This reduction in inflation, combined with an increase in volume sales by 5.4%, indicates that Irish households were stocking up for the Halloween festivities and the accompanying bank holiday. Notably, there was a 2.6% increase in shopping frequency compared to the prior year.

Key consumer behaviour around Halloween included a 4.5% increase in pumpkin sales, amounting to an additional €63,000 in revenue. Brussels sprouts, a staple for many holiday tables, saw an impressive surge of 43% in sales, contributing an extra €149,000 in revenue.

Eimear Faughnan, head of retail at Kantar, elaborated on the trend, noting that October was a crucial month as Irish families prepared for the first school holiday of the academic term and Halloween festivities. The mild temperatures further prompted consumers to delay the traditional shift to winter apparel, allowing more focus on shopping. Faughnan highlighted a notable increase in spending on Halloween-related goods, with a 'frightening' €8.9 million more spent on chocolate confectionery compared to last year, along with significant rises in spending on savoury snacks (€2.4 million) and sweets (€1.6 million). An additional €774,000 was spent on ingredients like flour, fruits, nuts, and cake mixes in anticipation of the Christmas season.

The data also indicated that consumers were taking advantage of promotional deals, spending an additional €40 million on such offers over the latest 12-week period. This led to promotional products constituting 18.5% of supermarket sales. Branded products maintained their lead over own-label offerings for the third consecutive period, with branded sales increasing by 7%.

Online shopping experienced a notable upturn, with a striking 11.8% year-on-year increase. This shift added an impressive €21.5 million to the grocery sector's online sales, supported by a 16.5% rise in the number of shopping trips over the same timeframe, contributing an extra €29 million to the online segment.

In terms of individual retailer performance, Dunnes Stores maintained its dominance in the market, securing a 24.5% share and experiencing a sales growth of 9%. The retailer's success was partly due to a 7.3% increase in customer visits, contributing an additional €55.9 million to its performance.

Tesco claimed the second position with a 23.4% market share, achieving a 9.6% growth in value sales year-on-year, driven by a 6.7% increase in customer shopping trips. SuperValu held 19.7% of the market with a growth of 2.3%, making it the retailer with the highest average shopping trips at 24.4 over the past 12 weeks, which added €28.8 million to its sales figures.

Lidl managed to secure a 13.5% share of total spending, with a growth of 6.3% during the same period. The German discounter saw its sales grow by €26.3 million compared to the previous year, benefitting from increased store visits and higher per-trip volumes.

Aldi also reported growth of 1.2%, resulting in a market share of 11.5%. The store's enhanced footfall contributed an additional €16.4 million to its overall sales.

These impressive figures illustrate a buoyant period for the Irish grocery sector, driven by seasonal shopping trends, increased promotions, and a greater frequency of shopping trips, both in-store and online.