Grocery prices are now rising at close to 6pc, putting a huge strain on household budgets.
The August grocery data from Worldpanel by Numerator shows that Irish shoppers spent €735m on promotional lines during the latest 12-week period.
This is a 9pc increase compared to the previous year.
Worldpanel by Numerator separated from Kantar in June.
Grocery prices are surging.
Stock image/Getty
Today’s News in 90 seconds – 25th August 2025
The data company said grocery inflation continued to rise, increasing from 5.43pc in the previous 12-week period to 5.86pc in the 12 weeks to this month.
Higher spending on promotional items was recorded for alcohol, frozen foods and household items.
Worldpanel said this figure is based on over 30,000 identical products compared year-on-year in the proportions purchased by Irish shoppers and therefore represents the most authoritative figure currently available.
It said it is a “pure” inflation measure in that shopping behaviour is held constant between the two comparison periods – shoppers are likely to achieve a lower personal inflation rate if they trade down or seek out more offers.
Spending in supermarkets was up in the 12 weeks up to this month.
Researchers said this was due to a host of festivals, sell-out concerts and the Galway Races.
This meant Irish shoppers contributed an additional €68.2m to the grocery market’s overall performance.
Take-home value sales rose 6.2pc over the four weeks to August 10, 2025, although shoppers were in store less often and when in store continued to pick up less packs per trip.
Business development director at Worldpanel by Numerator, Emer Healy, said households have been enjoying the last of the summer sun, spending a €7.2m more on alcohol and an additional €1.3m on suncare.
“Shoppers also indulged in other ways, spending an additional €8.9m on take-home soft drinks and chocolate.
“With such busy calendars, it’s clear that shoppers needed a bit of an energy boost with nearly €1m more spent on sports and energy drinks compared to the same time last year.”
Spending on branded products was up by close to €60m in the period.
Brands currently hold a 47pc value share of the total market, with own-label at 47.1pc value share.
Online grocery shopping has a 5.6pc value share of the market, with sales rising by 6.8pc year-on-year, and shoppers spending an additional €12.5m through this channel.
Over the latest 12 weeks, Dunnes holds a 23.5pc market share, with sales growth of 6.3pc year-on-year.
Dunnes shoppers returned to store more often, up 2.2pc, which contributed €16.7m to its overall performance, Worldpanel by Numerator said.
Tesco holds a 23.4pc of the market, with value growth of 5.6pc year-on-year.
Shoppers increased their trips to store by 2.9pc, which contributed €22.3m to overall performance.
SuperValu holds a 19.7pc of the market with growth of 4.2pc.
Lidl holds a 14.2pc of the market with growth of 9.5pc.
Aldi holds an 11.8pc market share, up 4.4pc.