The latest take-home grocery sales in Ireland rose by 6.1% in the four weeks to 5 October 2025, indicating that shoppers are back in the swing of work and school routines, according to the latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator. During October, shoppers spent an additional €67.6 million on groceries, picking up more volume per trip, up 1.8% compared to last year.
Grocery price inflation is now at its highest level since December 2023, standing at 6.5%. Irish shoppers, however, are getting ready for a golden period of spending as we approach Halloween and the festive season.
Emer Healy, our Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator comments: “The next few weeks is a busy time for shoppers. But with the latest budget for 2026 being announced against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, there will be more pressure on shoppers and it may have an impact on their discretionary spending. The end of one-off payments such as the energy credit and double child benefit, along with rising fuel and other household costs, will put extra pressure on many families, especially as tax bands remain unchanged and some credits are no longer available.
“With Christmas fast approaching and many starting their shopping early to help spread the cost, households will be looking to balance multiple considerations when deciding what groceries to buy and where. With prices still rising, cost is naturally a top priority and will continue to be as we step into 2026.”
Shoppers go deal-hunting to mitigate rising costs
Spending on promotional offers has climbed to 21.9% value share in the market, the highest level seen since this June as shoppers look for ways to stretch their budgets. Promotional activity typically intensifies in the lead-up to the festive season, so this trend is likely to persist into December.
Spending on promotion jumped by 10.2% over the latest 12 weeks, outpacing the total market (+6.2%).
Emer Healy adds: “Shoppers are increasingly relying on promotions to offset rising costs, resulting in an additional €71.5 million spent compared to the same period last year. As budgets tighten, it will be interesting to see how this will affect shoppers’ spending habits and the contents of their shopping baskets.”
Over the last three years there has been a big jump in indulgent categories’ sales on promotions with chocolate, soft drinks and biscuits all growing on promotion, up 62%, 60% and 30% respectively versus 2022 Overall, Irish shoppers are spending €145 million more on promotions than they were two years ago.
While brands have grown behind the total market with growth slowing to 4.9% in the last 12-week period, Irish shoppers still spent an additional €79.3 million on branded products.
Own label saw stronger growth at 6.3%, with premium own label continuing to be the standout performer, up 15.2%. Shoppers spent nearly €18.2 million extra on these ranges. Premium own label lines saw a boost in alcohol (+31%), frozen (+31%) and sweet spreads (+43%) over the last 12 weeks. Growth also came through standard own label with sales up 5.6% versus last year.
Brands currently hold 47.6% value share of the total market, while own label holds 46.5% value share.
Retailer and channel performance
Online continued to growing, but at a slower rate compared to last month, up 1.2% year on year to take 5.6% value share of the market. Shoppers spent an additional €2.5 million online during the period, helped by an influx of new customers who contributed €2.4 million to overall performance. Over 18% of Irish households bought their groceries online during this time.
Dunnes holds 24.4% market share, up on the last 12-week period, with sales growth of 6.2% year-on-year. Larger trips contributed an additional €5.1 million to their overall performance.
Tesco holds 23.7% of the market, with value growth of 7.1% year-on-year. Shoppers increased their trips to stores by 0.8% and, together with new shoppers, contributed an additional €27.3 million to the grocer’s overall performance.
SuperValu holds 19.2% of the market with growth of 4.6%. Consumers made the most shopping trips to this grocer, averaging 23.9 trips over the latest 12 weeks. The increase in shopping trips contributed an additional €1.6 million to its performance.
Lidl holds 14.1% of the market with growth of 9.2%, the fastest growth among all retailers once again. Lidl also saw shoppers pick up more volume in store, up 1.7%, contributing an additional €7.5 million to overall performance.
Aldi holds 11.4% market share, up 4.1%. Increased store trips and new shoppers drove an additional €8.8 million in sales.
