Irish shoppers face soaring bills as grocery inflation reaches new peak

Tomas Doherty

Grocery prices have soared by almost 17 per cent over the past year, with inflation in Irish supermarkets now at the highest level ever recorded by retail analysts Kantar.

Supermarket food prices over the three months to March 19th were up by 16.8 per cent when compared to the same 12-week period last year.

This means the average annual grocery bill is set to rise by €1,211 if consumers maintain the same shopping habits.

Take-home grocery sales increased by 9.5 per cent over the 12-week period, as shoppers returned to store more often (up 7.7 per cent) and average price per pack increased by 13.9 per cent year-on-year.

Kantar also found that shopper visits grew 13 per cent year-on-year, which is the highest level of footfall since March 2020. In actual terms this means shoppers made two additional trips to stores in March.

The increased footfall was partly thanks to a month of celebrations including Mother's Day, St Patrick's Day and the Irish rugby team winning the Six Nations Grand Slam.

Shoppers took advantage of St Patrick’s Day falling on a Friday this year to celebrate over a long weekend, resulting in a 10.4 per cent boost to sales in March. Sales of Guinness were up 6.7 per cent, equating to an additional €623,000, with one in 10 Irish households purchasing the beverage in March.

March also saw shoppers stocking up on Easter essentials, growing an additional 20 per cent on Easter chocolate. Large eggs proved to be most popular, with sales up an impressive 86 per cent year-on-year and shoppers spending an additional €3.8 million.