Business

Tills continue ringing for all the big supermarkets

All major supermarkets in the north sold more groceries in the last quarter according to industry figures
All major supermarkets in the north sold more groceries in the last quarter according to industry figures All major supermarkets in the north sold more groceries in the last quarter according to industry figures

ALL the main supermarkets and symbol stores in Northern Ireland sold more groceries in the last quarter when compared to the same period last year, according to latest market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel.

But there was little change in the overall league table of the main players, with Tesco again out in front with a 35 per cent slice of the overall market, and Sainsbury's and Asda a distance second, each with a 17.2 per cent regional share.

Lidl's share over the period remained static at 5.4 per cent while the other multiples retained their 8.5 per cent slice of the overall northern grocery market. Other outlets (made up of Boots, greengrocers, butchers etc) took 7.9 per cent of money going into the tills.

Across the whole of the island in the 12 weeks ending August 13, despite strong sales growth of 3.4 per cent by Tesco, SuperValu has retained the position of Ireland’s largest grocery retailer.

David Berry, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “A year-on-year sales growth of 0.4 per cent was enough for SuperValu to hold on to the top spot in the face of a strong challenge from Tesco.

"SuperValu has improved the number of items sold per trip but has done so at a lower price point and now holds a 22.2 per cent share of the grocery market, down 0.3 percentage points on last year.

“This is the fourth consecutive period of growth for Tesco, which is a clear indication that it’s achieved a turnaround in performance. This is also only the second time since July 2014 that Tesco has posted a year-on-year increase in market share.”

The overall grocery market in Ireland has seen growth of 2.2 per cent despite deflation holding steady for the second month in a row.