Supermarket alcohol sales fall 8.6% in January

Michael Bolton

Alcohol sales in supermarkets fell by 8.6 per cent last month as people appeared to started 2024 with 'Dry January', foregoing alcohol for the month.

The latest figures from Kantar's Irish Grocery Market Share research showed consumers spent €7.4 million less on alcohol during January compared to the same month last year.

Sales of non-alcoholic beverages jumped 8.9 per cent with shoppers spending €125,000 more year-on-year.

However, 'Veganuary' (Vegan January) did not have the same success. Despite nearly 38 per cent of Irish households purchasing chilled or frozen plant-based products, sales fell 2.6 per cent.

Grocery inflation stands at 5.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to 21 January 2024, which is down 1.2 percentage points, compared to 7.1 per cent in December.

Premium own label ranges performed well with shoppers spending an additional €157 million on these lines with growth of 10.3 per cent when compared to this time last year.

Dunnes Store hit a new record share of 24.6 per cent with growth of 9.9 per cent year-on-year.

Tesco holds 23.8 per cent of the market, also a new record for the retailer, with growth of 9.4 per cent year-on-year.

SuperValu holds 20.6 per cent of the market with growth of 4 per cent. SuperValu's shoppers also make the most trips in store compared to all retailers, averaging 21.1 trips.