SuperValu and Dunnes Stores are tied for top spot with a market share of 22.5% each. Tesco find themselves in third place with 21.8% in the increasingly competitive battle of the supermarkets.

Kantar Worldpanel have released figure from the 12-week period ending December 4th, which show SuperValu have increased their market share to become level with Dunnes Stores. This gain shows Supervalu recovering quickly from their fall to second place last month.

SuperValu’s rapid climb back to top spot demonstrates how fierce competition is between Ireland’s ‘big three’, with just 0.7 percentage points now separating the three largest retailers. While both retailers saw sales grow slightly over the period, Aldi posted the strongest growth in the quarter with sales up by 6.1% over the last 12 months.

Lidl increased its sales by 4.3%, a figure which sees them ahead of overall market growth, which currently stands at 3.7%, leading to a slight increase in market share for the retailer. Similarly, Aldi and Lidl are also locked in a dead heat, with each of the German giants boasting a market share of 11%.

Kantar Worldpanel’s Ireland director David Berry said “Having reached the number one spot for the first time last month, Dunnes now shares that position with SuperValu – a real testament to just how competitive this marketplace is,”

SuperValu sales have positively increased by 1% over the last 12 weeks, which translates to shoppers spending an average of an extra €1 every time they visit a SuperValu store.

The long running Shop and Save campaign continues to prove successful for Dunnes with nearly 64%of households venturing into stores over the past 12 weeks. Shoppers on average visited just over once a week, spending €39.50 per visit – an increase of almost €3 on last year.

Dunnes currently stands as the only retailer which has delivered stronger growth for brands – (up 5.7%) than own label goods which increased by 3.3 per cent in the last 12 week period.