The cost of the average Christmas dinner in 2024 has increased by 2% to €34.74 when compared with last year.

Research firm Kantar has based the figures on an average meal for four people.

The overall increase in cost, Kantar has said, is being driven mainly by the price of turkey, which is on average costing €9.46, an increase of 5.1%.

Christmas vegetable staples have also risen in price, with Brussels sprouts and mince pies seeing an increase of over 10% in price versus this time last year. Potatoes are up by over 4%, while carrots are up by over 6%.

The cost of the average Christmas dinner in 2024 has increased by 2% to €34.74 when compared with last year.

Take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased in value by 5% over the four weeks leading up to 1 December 2024, reaching €1.24bn, according to the latest data from Kantar.

November became the biggest sales month of the year so far, with the number of shopping trips up 1.4% compared with the same period last year.

Shoppers spent an additional €28.7m online in November also, with value sales up 15.4% year on year.

In the latest 12-week period, the number of online shopping trips increased by 17%, while new shoppers looking to save time during a busy period leading up to Christmas added an additional €34.8m online.

Market share

Dunnes holds 24.9% market share, with sales growth of 7.8% year on year as shoppers increased their number of trips by 7.9% and picked up more packs per trips, which contributed a combined €72.1m to their overall performance.

Tesco holds 23.6% of the market, with value growth of 7.6% year on year, as shoppers increased their trips to store by 6.7%.

SuperValu holds 19.9% of the market, with growth of 3.5%.

Consumers made the most shopping trips to this grocer, averaging 24.4 trips over the latest 12 weeks. The increased number of shopping trips and additional items picked up per trip contributed €20.2m to its performance.

Lidl holds a 13% share of total spending. Increased trips to store and increased volume per trip drove an additional €35.4m in sales, up 5.9% versus the same time last year.

Aldi holds 11.2% market share, up 2.5% versus last year, with an increase in trips contributing an additional €25.5m to its performance.

'Clear signs'

Business development director at Kantar Emer Healy said: “Last year, we saw a whopping €87m go through the tills on 23 December and we’re expecting this again, with Monday 23 December set to be the single busiest day for the supermarkets this year.

"But there are clear signs that Irish shoppers are stocking up early, especially when it comes to festive favourites.

"Shoppers spent an additional €4.5m on assorted biscuits and crackers compared with the previous month, while 15% of all households bought mince pies and more than 36% purchased seasonal chocolates in November."