Irish grocery prices were 3.4% higher in January than a year earlier, according to Kantar’s monthly report on the sector. This is a small drop from the 3.6% seen in December.

Kantar said that the overall value of sales in January was 6.5% higher than the same period last year.

The company said that much of that jump in sales was driven by consumers purchasing goods which were on promotion.

Shoppers spent an additional €75m, an 8.4% increase, in such goods during the month, which Kantar said was the highest level of sales on promotion since February 2021.

Storm effect

The effects of the nationwide red weather warning for storm Éowyn can also be seen in the data, as sales growth in major supermarkets increased beyond the industry level, with consumers stocking up on essentials ahead of the weather event.

On market share, Dunnes remains at the top with 25%, Tesco is a close second at 24.1%, with Supervalu is third place with 20.3%. Lidl and Aldi hold 12.4% and 10.7% respectively.

The top five multiples between them hold 92.1% of the grocery market in the country.

Kantar also pointed to the increase in non-alcoholic drink sales, up a huge 47% compared with a year ago. However, there was also an increase in the sales of beer and cider, meaning not everyone was taking part in dry January.