SuperValu have retained the top spot in the battle of the grocery giants with 22.5% of the market share, a full half a percent ahead of its next competitor Tesco.

The biggest shift during the 12 weeks ending 21 May, saw Tesco overtake Dunnes to reach second place. Dunnes now sit in third place with 21.9% of the market share. According to the data, published by Kantar Worldpanel, Tesco’s climb back to second place is down to more regular trips by its customers to its stores. While shoppers spent increasing amounts of money at Dunnes, they visited the stores less often.

Dunnes performance was still strong during the period with the retailer’s overall sales increasing by 4.9% compared to the same period last year. Shoppers are spending more instore, with the retailer managing to encourage an impressive 10% spending increase among remaining customers, €47 extra on average with the grocer during the latest quarter. However, while shoppers are spending more, they’re visiting the retailer less often. The retailer had 54,000 fewer shoppers during the past 12 weeks.

Lidl has remained steady, keeping its fourth position with a share of 11.4%, just 0.2 per cent ahead of its main rival Aldi. Both of the discounters have performed well with growth for Lidl has accelerated to 2.7% with Aldi boosting sales by 4%

According to Kantar, the recent fall in prices has been a positive for the grocery industry, encouraging shoppers to spend more. The grocery market continues to see growth, an increase of 2.2% in the last quarter.

The sector was worth €2.37 billion over the 12-week period, an increase of €50 million on last year.

“With the average price per pack falling slightly, growth has been driven by households buying extra items, with the average shopping basket increasing in size,” said director at Kantar Worldpanel David Berry in a press release.

This increased spend was the most beneficial to retailers own brand products which saw a 4% increase in sales within Irish supermarkets compared to this time next year. 54% of the products found in the average Irish supermarket shopper’s trolly carry own-brand labels compared with less than 10% a decade ago before the recession.