Irish Grocery Spending Rises For Fifth Consecutive Quarter
The amount Irish consumers spend on everyday grocery items, such as food, drinks and toiletries, increased year-on-year for the fifth consecutive quarter, according to Nielsen retail performance data. In the second quarter of 2016, the volume of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) purchased in Ireland rose 1.3% year-on-year, whilst the average prices paid for these goods also rose 1.3%. Consequently, grocery retailers saw a 2.6% rise in takings at the tills – the fourth highest figure since Nielsen started measuring this nearly eight years ago.
The Irish market had the fifth highest figures among the 21 European countries measured, hugely outperforming Europe as a whole (0.8% rise) and the UK (-1.6% decline) – the latter’s worst performance in nearly two years.
Matt Clark, managing director for Nielsen Ireland, says: “The recent upturn in FMCG sales in Ireland continues, in terms of both volumes purchased and prices paid. This is being driven by positive consumer confidence which is good news for retailers in the Republic, who are witnessing some of the best growth numbers in Europe today.”
Across the 21 European countries, Turkey had the highest growth in takings at the tills (+8.9%), whilst Greece had the biggest decline (-7.2%). Of the big five western European markets, Spain (+2.1%) had the highest growth.
