New figures today show that Irish grocery inflation stood at 6.06% in the 12 weeks to November 2, down from 6.6% during the last 12-week inflation period.
The latest figures from Worldpanel by Numerator also reveal the latest take-home grocery sales in Ireland rose by 5.5% in the four weeks to 2 November.
It noted that despite prices continuing to rise, shoppers spent an additional €64m on groceries and were out shopping more often over the four week period.
Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator, said that retailers are acutely aware of the financial pressures that many households are under right now, and are keen to show how they are delivering value for money with a big focus on promotions.
She noted that 22% of all grocery sales are on promotion, up nearly 5.9% on this time last year. Promotional activity typically intensifies in the lead-up to Christmas, so this is likely to persist well into December, she added.
Today's figures show that own label saw strong growth over the last 12 weeks, up 6.3%, with shoppers spending an additional €99m on these ranges compared to last year. Premium own label ranges continue to see strong growth, up 15.3%, with shoppers spending an additional €18.5m on these ranges compared to last year.
Brands continue to grow behind the total market with growth slowing to 5.2% in the last 12 weeks, but Irish shoppers still spent an additional €85.4m on branded products, Worldpanel by Numerator said.
Brands currently hold 48.2% value share of the total market, the highest share since February, showing how shoppers are more likely to treat themselves in the lead-up to Christmas. Own label holds 46.2% value share, it added.
Category increases included frozen fruit, low alcoholic drinks, hot beverages, confectionary sweets, chocolate, sweet spreads and savoury snacks, all of which grew ahead of the total market in the latest 12-week period. Shoppers also spent an additional €8m on boxed chocolates compared with last month amid the run-up to Christmas.
Today's figures show that online spend continued to increase, rising by 6.4% year-on-year to take 5.6% value share of the market.
Shoppers spent an additional €13.1m online, helped by an influx of new customers who contributed €5.8m to overall performance - more than double last month. Over 18% of Irish households bought their groceries online during this time, Worldpanel by Numerator said.
Meanwhile, today's figures also reveal that Dunnes continues to lead the grocery market, with a 24.6% market share, up on the last 12-week period with sales growth of 6.1% year-on-year. Larger and more frequent trips contributed an additional €26.2m to the Dunnes' overall performance.
Tesco holds 23.8% of the market, with value growth of 7.7% year-on-year. Shoppers increased their trips to stores by 0.8% and, along with new shoppers, contributed an additional €29.8m to its overall performance.
SuperValu holds 19.4% of the market with growth of 4.1%. Consumers made the most shopping trips to this grocer, averaging 24.1 trips over the latest 12 weeks. The retailer recruited new shoppers to store over the latest 12 weeks which contributed an additional €11.4m to its overall performance.
Lidl holds 14% of the market with growth of 9.6%, the fastest growth among all retailers once again. Lidl also saw shoppers pick up more volume in store, up 2.1%, contributing an additional €9.5m to overall performance, while Aldi holds 11.2% market share, up 3.8%. Increased store trips and new shoppers drove an additional €9.9m in sales at the chain,
