Kantar estimates that in the three months leading up to Christmas, grocery inflation was 7.1%.
It remains far higher than the inflation rate observed in the overall economy.
The inflation rate for groceries was over 15% last year.
Although that rate has decreased by half, which is a good thing, it is still nearly twice as high as the inflation rate for the economy, which is projected to be about 3.7%.
According to Kantar, consumers were on the lookout for a deal, as seen by the fact that promotional items accounted for 29% of spending between the end of September and the end of December.
Friday, December 22nd was the busiest day in supermarkets over the Christmas holiday.
Over the four weeks leading up to December 24th, Irish consumers made approximately 42 million trips 3.4 million more than the previous year and the most ever recorded at Christmas.
During the Christmas season, Irish shoppers also splurged on more branded products as a way to pamper themselves, paying an extra €105 million a 6.1% increase than at Christmas 2022. As a result, brands reached 50.7%, their greatest value share since January 2023.
Irish consumers spent an extra €10.4 million on cleaning and housekeeping supplies and an additional €2.2 million on toiletries during the Christmas season, when more entertaining took place.
The total market shares of Tesco, SuperValu, and Dunnes for the 12 weeks leading up to December 24th were 69%.