Business

Tesco back on top as Ireland's favourite grocer - for now

Tesco has regained top spot in the Republic
Tesco has regained top spot in the Republic Tesco has regained top spot in the Republic

TESCO is back on top in Ireland after briefly falling behind SuperValu as the Republic's favourite supermarket.

The grocery giant - which is still by far the number one retailer north of the border - took more than a quarter of the entire grocery spend in the Republic over the 12 weeks to May 24.

That gave it a market share of 25.2 per cent, moving ahead of SuperValu which accounted for 24.8 per cent over all.

The figures are from the latest supermarket share data from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland.

Although SuperValu help top spot for a short period, Kantar expects the battle for dominance to continue over the coming months - a traditionally strong time for SuperValu.

Its insight director Georgieann Harrington said: "Tesco has reclaimed the top-spot capturing 25.2 per cent of the grocery market, but the retailer is still seeing sales decline as their performance remains behind the market.

"However, Tescos value initiatives online and in-store have helped boost the number of visits to its stores by 1.4 per cent. The retailer has also seen a spend increase of 0.5 per cent from families with children. However, the grocer still has some ground to recover to regain the 26.3 per cent share of the market it had a year ago.

According to Kantar, SuperValu is the only retailer among the big three - including Dunnes Stores - to consistently win new shoppers.

Dunnes meanwhile posted the strongest sales growth among the big three retailers at 4.1 per cent, bringing its share to 21.9 per cent.

This is the retailers sixth consecutive month of growth.

With shoppers paying 0.6 per cent more for their groceries compared to last year, competition is fierce between the retailers as they battle it out to offer best value for money," added Ms Harrington.

In Northern Ireland, overall consumer spending rose by 0.8 per cent over the year to May 24.

Tesco's share fell slightly to 35 per cent - although this is still well ahead of nearest rival Sainsbury which contracted to 17.7 per cent as it edged ever closer to losing second spot to Asda which rose to 17.3 per cent.

Discounter Lidl remains the big story with its market share soaring by more than 20 per cent to 4.8 per cent of the overall market.