Christmas dinner will be marginally dearer than last year, new figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show.
Christmas dinner for a family of four will cost €32.28 this year, up from €31.22 last year.
Worldpanel by Numerator said that while essentials like vegetables are going down in price, an increase in turkey and seasonal biscuits is nudging up the overall price of the Christmas dinner.
But it added that festive indulgence remains a priority for consumers and despite chocolate prices rising by 13.5% compared to last year, 24% of households still picked up a selection box in November.
Today's figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show that grocery price inflation eased to 6% in the four weeks to November, falling from the previous month's level of 6.5%.
Worldpanel by Numerator said that consumers are looking for a mix of quality and value rather than chasing the lowest price when stocking up on festive favourites.
The latest figures also reveal that grocery sales in Ireland rose by 4.5% in the four weeks to 30 November as shoppers spent an additional €56m on groceries. But they spent less time in-store compared to the same time last year, down 1.3%.
Emer Healy, Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator, said that Christmas is just days away and we're seeing the final surge in shopper behaviour.
"This is the time when convenience, speed and last-minute decision-making dominate. With busy social calendars, shoppers are prioritising quick wins with ready-to-go gifts, easy meal solutions and anything that saves them time," she said.
"For brands and retailers, this is the critical window of opportunity to capture those indulgent impulse purchases, making sure they are well stocked with big-day favourites and can guarantee availability," she added.
Meanwhile, online continued to grow, and at a significantly faster rate compared to last month, rising by 6.7% year-on-year to take 6.2% value share of the market.
Shoppers spent an additional €14.4m online during the period, helped by larger and more frequent trips, which contributed a combined €14.7m to their overall performance.
Nearly 18% of Irish households bought their groceries online during this time, Worldpanel by Numerator noted.
Supermarkets' markets share
Today's figures show that Dunnes continues to hold the biggest supermarket market share - at 24.8% - an increase on the last 12-week period, with sales growth of 5.2% year-on-year. Larger and more frequent trips contributed an additional €24.9m to their overall performance.
Tesco holds 24% of the market, with value growth of 7.2% year-on-year. An influx of new shoppers contributed an additional €25m to the chain's overall performance.
SuperValu holds 19.3% of the market with growth of 2.3%. Consumers made the most shopping trips to this grocer, averaging 23.6 trips over the latest 12 weeks. SuperValu recruited new shoppers to store over the latest 12 weeks, which contributed an additional €12.7m to their overall performance.
Meanwhile, Lidl holds 13.5% of the market with growth of 9.4%, the fastest growth among all retailers once again. Lidl also saw not only new shoppers in-store but existing shoppers pick up more volume in store, contributing a combined an additional €17.7m to overall performance.
Aldi holds 10.9% market share, up 2.5%. Increased store trips and new shoppers drove an additional €8.8m in sales, today's figures add.
