Dunnes Stores has returned to first place in the supermarket wars with a market share of 22.7 %.
This is only the second time the retailer has taken the crown, having first held the position in November last year. Supervalu is in second place with the smallest of margins at 22.5% while Tesco follow in third with a 22.4% share in the market.
The latest share figures from Kantar Worldpanel cover the 12 weeks up to the end of January also have good news for Aldi seeing the strongest growth, seeing the German retailer overtake its main rival Lidl. Aldi continues to set the pace as the fastest growing retailer with year-on-year growth of 6.3% meaning its market share now stands at 10.6% compared to the 10.3% enjoyed by Lidl. There is hardly room for complacency, however as only 0.3 per cent separates the top three.
January has been difficult for retailers as growth following a record breaking Christmas proved difficult to maintain, further increasing competition. Retailers have also been affected by supply issues concerning fresh produce in recent weeks. The shortages have been caused by unusual bad weather in Southern Europe.
Southern Europe is currently suffering from continuing rainfall which has seen volume sales of courgettes, cauliflower and spinach drop by at least 20%. Other categories of fresh produce including lettuce and cabbages have also been affected, but to a lesser degree.
This competition means good news for consumers though as price inflation looks to remain low in 2017. Grocery prices are only 0.7% higher than they were this time last year – which means the average shopper is only spending an extra 17 cents per trip to the supermarket.
