Dunnes Stores retains top spot as most popular supermarket
Dunnes Stores has retained the top spot as Ireland's favourite supermarket.
New figures from Kantar show that the Irish grocery market grew by 4.2% over the 12 weeks to May 19.
Tesco has narrowed the gap to be the second most popular supermarket and is just 0.2 percentage points behind Dunnes.
Increased volume sales have been key to Tesco’s success, up by 4.8% over the past 12 weeks, according to Kantar, and the retailer's sales also grey by 3.6% in the past 12 weeks.
Growth of 12.6% and 5.9% for Aldi and Lidl respectively means that the stores' combined grocery market share stands at 23.6%, which is higher than that of any individual retailer for the third period in a row.
Meanwhile, SuperValu saw increases of 0.9% over the 12 weeks to May 19.
Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar, said: “The strength of Dunnes, Aldi and Lidl – retailers at opposite ends of the price spectrum – is a surprising quirk of the Irish grocery market.
Dunnes has shown little interest in going head-to-head with Aldi and Lidl on price, instead preferring to carve out its position as Ireland’s premium food retailer through smart acquisitions and partnerships with upmarket brands.
"As Aldi and Lidl have grown, they have placed an increased emphasis on their premium own label and branded ranges. This is a clear attempt to capture more spend from those shoppers who, while seeking value, are also prepared to splash out on certain occasions.
"While on the surface Dunnes, Aldi and Lidl have different appeals, they are all targeting the same shoppers and tailoring ranges to reflect that," he said.
