Take-home sales at Ireland’s grocers increased by 4.8% in the four weeks to 22 February 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to the latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator.
Trip frequency grew by 5.7% over the four weeks, as shoppers stocked up for a busy month of celebrations, with Shrove Tuesday, Valentine’s Day and The Six Nations Championship all taking place or continuing in February.
Eimear Faughnan, Head of Retail for Ireland at Worldpanel by Numerator, said: “February was a busy month of celebrations, and the data indicates that Irish shoppers stocked up on their food and drink favorites to make the most of these events.”
Over the latest 12-week period, brands have seen a boost in both value and volume growth, with shoppers spending an additional €159 million on branded products year on year. Brands hold more than half of the market, at 50.9%, and shoppers turning to branded products when indulging has resulted in an additional €45.3 million spend on branded wine and chocolate confectionery.
“Although shoppers are still feeling the pinch, this doesn’t mean that they have stopped turning to brands they know and trust, which highlights just how much shoppers value familiarity,” Eimear Faughnan added.
Despite this, own label continues to perform strongly, with year-on-year growth of 2.9%. The strongest growth has been observed in premium own label, with shoppers spending an additional €8.7 million on these ranges versus last year. Own label now holds 44.6% of value market share, down from 45.6% last year.
Valentine’s Day shoppers indulge at home
Spending across popular products associated with Valentine’s Day increased across the board over the four weeks, as Irish shoppers chose to indulge at home. Value growth in confectionery chocolate increased by 21.5%, champagne and sparkling wine by 15.8% and wine by 31.3%. Boxed chocolates, typically a popular Valentine’s Day gift, gained new shoppers, increasing by 4.5 percentage points.
Despite the uptick in sales across these two alcohol categories, demand for low- and no-alcohol options continued. Spending on the category totalled €2.2 million, up 46.1% on last year. Meanwhile, an extra €1.65 million was spent on fresh and frozen dine-in meals over the four weeks.
Eimear Faughnan added: “While shoppers are still popping the cork on champagne, sparkling wine and wine, a rising focus on health and wellbeing is transforming what ends up in their glasses, with low- and no-alcohol options continuing to gain momentum.”
Pancake toppings flip to growth
February also brought Shrove Tuesday, and sales of pancake ingredients featured heavily in shopping baskets over the four weeks. Shoppers embraced sweet toppings to treat themselves this Pancake Day, with lemons, berries, and dessert sauces including salted caramel, ice cream and maple syrup toppings all proving a hit with new shoppers.
Demand for convenience was also clear, with 15% of households buying pre-made pancakes and spending more than €400,000 on the category during February compared to the previous month.
Looking at market share, Dunnes holds the lead with 24.5% share over the 12 weeks to 22 February, with value sales up 4.9% year on year. Dunnes recruited new shoppers to stores, contributing an additional €30 million to the grocer.
Tesco’s share increased by 0.3 percentage points in the latest period, growing ahead of the market at 6.7% and taking its share to 24.2%.
SuperValu saw 0.5% value growth, with 19.5% share and increased footfall contributing an additional €33 million to sales.
Aldi grew by 1.4%, with a 4.7% increase in trip frequency taking share to 10.5%.
Lidl posted double-digit growth for the third consecutive period, with growth of 12.2% contributing to its share increasing by 0.8 percentage points. Lidl was the only retailer to increase its volumes, up 2.9% compared to the same period last year.
