Supermarket Retailing - Ireland - December 2017

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Issues covered in this Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The market
Figure 1: Estimated total grocery retail sales, NI and RoI, 2012-17
Forecast
Figure 2: Estimated total supermarket retail sales, NI and RoI, 2012-22
Market factors
Four in 10 RoI consumers spending over €101 each week on groceries
Irish consumers ‘unsure’ of how Brexit will impact their situation
Discounters’ market share continues to grow
The ‘online shopping’ experience could go further
Companies and innovations
The consumer
Women more likely to take responsibility for main grocery shopping
Figure 3: Who is responsible for the main grocery shop in their household, NI and RoI, September 2017
Tesco the top retailer in NI with discounters taking control in RoI
Figure 4: Usage of retailers for main weekly grocery shopping, NI, September 2017
Figure 5: Usage of retailers for main weekly grocery shopping, RoI, September 2017
Lidl preferred for top-up shopping
Figure 6: Stores that consumers do their top-up grocery shopping with (in-store), NI, September 2017
Figure 7: Stores that consumers do their top-up grocery shopping with (in-store), RoI, September 2017
Brands excel in indulgent categories
Figure 8: Consumers’ preferences of branded vs own-label groceries, NI and RoI, September 2017
Irish consumers trust supermarkets but are concerned with food waste
Figure 9: Agreement with statements relating to supermarkets, NI and RoI, September 2017
What we think
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Supermarkets forecast for 0.4% growth in 2017
Four in 10 RoI consumers spending over €101 each week on groceries
Irish consumers ‘unsure’ of how Brexit will impact their situation
Discounters’ market share continues to grow
The ‘online shopping’ experience could go further
MARKET SIZES AND FORECAST
Grocery retailing sales forecast for 0.6% growth in 2017
Figure 10: Estimated total grocery retail sales, IoI, NI and RoI, 2012-22
Supermarkets forecast to see 0.4% growth in 2017
Figure 11: Estimated total supermarket retail sales, IoI, NI and RoI, 2012-22
Figure 12: Estimated grocery retail sales vs supermarket sales, NI and RoI, 2017
MARKET DRIVERS 
RoI consumers spending more on food despite food prices continuously decreasing
Figure 13: Consumer price indices vs food and non-alcoholic beverage prices, RoI, September 2016-September 2017
Figure 14: Consumer price indices vs food and non-alcoholic beverages, UK (including NI), September 2016-September 2017
Figure 15: Average amount that consumers spend each week for household groceries, NI, October 2017
Figure 16: Average amount that consumers spend each week for household groceries, RoI, October 2017
Brexit concerns NI consumers more
Figure 17: How consumers feel Brexit will impact their future personal situation, NI and RoI, September 2017
Convenience drives cross-border shopping
Discounters continue to keep multiples on their toes
Figure 18: Estimated discounters’ percentage share of the total grocery retail market, NI and RoI, 2016
Online shopping could drive consumers back towards supermarkets
Figure 19: Consumers who have purchased groceries (for home delivery) online using a laptop or desktop computer in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, February 2016 and January 2017
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW – COMPANIES AND INNOVATIONS 
Musgrave committed on using local suppliers
Dunnes repositions itself towards more affluent market segments
Discounters poised for growth in the event of unfavourable Brexit-related conditions
Discounter operations in Ireland tend not to include online shopping or home delivery
Marks & Spencer abstains from Black Friday deals
WHO’S INNOVATING?
Leading supermarkets gravitating towards a healthier own-label portfolio
Figure 20: New own-label product launches by top 10 largest supermarket chains operating in the Irish market, by category, 2013-17*
Convenience a key driver in supermarket retail
Supermarkets as a destination
Biometric payments starting to breach the mainstream
COMPANY PROFILES 
SuperValu (Musgrave)
Key facts
Positioning / strategy
Brand NPD
Recent developments
Dunnes Stores
Key facts
Positioning / strategy
Brand NPD
Recent developments
Aldi (RoI Only)
Key facts
Positioning / strategy
Brand NPD
Recent developments
Lidl
Key facts
Positioning / strategy
Brand NPD
Recent developments
Tesco
Key facts
Positioning / strategy
Brand NPD
Recent developments
Sainsbury’s (NI Only)
Key facts
Positioning / strategy
Brand NPD
Recent developments
Iceland
Key facts
Positioning / strategy
Brand NPD
Recent developments
Asda (NI Only)
Key facts
Positioning / strategy
Brand NPD
Recent developments
Marks & Spencer
Key facts
Positioning / strategy
Brand NPD
Recent developments
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Women more likely to take responsibility for main grocery shopping
Tesco the top retailer in NI with discounters taking control in RoI
Lidl preferred for top-up shopping
Brands excel in indulgent categories
Irish consumers trust supermarkets but are concerned with food waste
THE CONSUMER – WHO SHOPS FOR GROCERIES?
Over half of Irish consumers are responsible for grocery shopping
Figure 21: Who is responsible for the main grocery shop in their household, NI and RoI, September 2017
Women do the main shop
Figure 22: Consumers who said they were mainly/wholly responsible grocery shopping in their household, by gender and age, NI and RoI, September 2017
THE CONSUMER – WHERE IRISH CONSUMERS DO THEIR MAIN GROCERY SHOP
Tesco is the top retailer in NI but falls behind in RoI
Figure 23: Usage of retailers for main weekly grocery shopping, NI, September 2017
Figure 24: Usage of retailers for main weekly grocery shopping, RoI, September 2017
NI men favour Tesco
Figure 25: Consumers who have visited Tesco for their main grocery shop, by gender and age, NI and RoI, September 2017
Figure 26: Consumers who shop in SuperValu or Dunnes for their main grocery shop, by age, NI and RoI, September 2017
Discounters outdo supermarkets in RoI
Figure 27: Consumers who have visited Aldi for their main grocery shop, by gender and age, RoI, September 2017
THE CONSUMER – WHERE IRISH CONSUMERS DO THEIR TOP-UP SHOPPING
Discounters preferred for top-up shopping
Figure 28: Stores that consumers do their top-up grocery shopping with (in-store), NI, September 2017
Figure 29: Stores that consumers do their top-up grocery shopping with (in-store), RoI, September 2017
Top-up shoppers splash out for premium retailers
Discounters preferred for top-up shopping
Figure 30: Consumers who have used Lidl and Aldi to do their grocery shopping, by top-up and main grocery shop, NI and RoI, September 2017
Convenience is key for top-up shopping
THE CONSUMER – PREFERENCE OF OWN-LABEL VS BRANDED
Own-label performs well with Irish household staples
Figure 31: Consumers’ preferences of branded vs own-label groceries, NI and RoI, September 2017
Own-label fruit, vegetables and dairy bought by more than a third
Figure 32: Consumers who have bought fruit and vegetables, meat, fish or poultry and fresh fruit and vegetables, by own-label (eg Tesco, SuperValu) or branded (eg Smirnoff or Fairy’s), NI and RoI, September 2017
Brands outdo own-label in most drink categories
Figure 33: Consumers who typically buy branded alcohol drinks (eg Smirnoff), by gender and age, NI and RoI, September 2017
Own-label preferred over branded ready meals
Figure 34: Consumers who typically buy own-label ready meals, NI and RoI, September 2017
THE CONSUMER – ATTITUDES TOWARDS SUPERMARKETS
Over half say free delivery would encourage online grocery shopping
Figure 35: Agreement with statements relating to supermarkets, NI and RoI, September 2017
Food waste concerns three in four Irish consumers
Figure 36: Consumers’ agreement with the statement ‘I think supermarkets need to do more to help reduce food waste’, by gender, NI and RoI, September 2017
Irish consumers demand more Irish-sourced products
Figure 37: Consumers’ agreement with the statement ‘More locally sourced products from NI/ RoI should be available in supermarkets ’, by gender and age, NI and RoI, September 2017
Parents interested in a grocery scanning app
Figure 38: Consumers’ agreement with the statement ‘An app that allows me to scan items as I pick them off the shelves would help me keep track of my spending’, by presence of children in the household, NI and RoI, September 2017
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES, ABBREVIATIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Data sources
Generational cohort definitions
Abbreviations