FDBusiness.com

The latest Irish supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, for the 12 weeks ending 30 September 2012, show that Aldi has posted market share growth of almost 30% – an all-time record for the retailer.

David Berry, commercial director at Kantar Worldpanel, comments: “Aldi has been the star performer for a number of years and this is reflected in its 29.8% growth rate. Its strong performance is down to a solid combination of new store openings, a strong advertising campaign and a consistent evolution of the goods on offer in store. All of this means that Aldi has firmly established its position as the number five retailer in Ireland with a 6% share of the market and is now closing the gap on Lidl.”

Shoppers are continuing to keep close control over their spending – an austerity trend which has led to the value of the Irish grocery market falling by 0.5%. This is despite a slight increase in the Kantar Worldpanel inflation measure to 2.6%. This trend is further demonstrated by consumers choosing to shop more often for fewer items.

Tesco and SuperValu have out-performed the market and are beginning to gain some momentum, both achieving higher growth rates than last month. Lidl has seen a moderate growth of 0.1 percentage points to 6.6%, although its 1% growth rate is the lowest it has posted this year.

David Berry continues: “While the grocery market as a whole remains subdued, there are still some areas that are performing well. Sales of alcohol at the grocers have grown by 8% this quarter, showing that staying in and have a drink is an increasingly popular choice for those of us who are on a budget.”

Grocery inflation stands at 2.6% for the 12 week period ending 30 September 2012, up from 2.3% in the previous period but significantly below the 4.4% seen in August 2011.