A survey of over 30,000 products on Irish supermarket shelves found that shoppers paid 2.8pc more for these goods in the 12 weeks to August 4 compared with the same period in 2023.
While this was down 9.7pc from August last year, this reflected a slight rise in inflation levels after 15 months of decline, Kantar reported.
“Although grocery inflation is lower now, shoppers are still looking for value in the market and spending on promotions rose by 10.8pc compared to the same time last year, with 24.5pc of all value sales going through on promotion,” Kantar’s business development director Emer Healy said.
She also pointed to ongoing demand for own label ranges, with shoppers spending an additional €59.2m year-on-year on these items in the latest 12-week period.
However, sales of branded goods were also on the rise.
Consumers spent an additional €111m on branded products year-on-year, with market share of brands rising 7.7pc.
A combination of fine weather and the Paris Olympics also contributed to a boost in spending in recent weeks, the analysis showed.
“Bringing home four gold medals and with our best games ever, it gave us a reason to raise a glass or two and enjoy the sporting spectacle, with shoppers spending an additional €8m on alcohol and €5m on take-home confectionery and savouries combined,” Ms Healy said.
An additional €367,000 was spent on sausages, burgers and grills in the recent four-week period, while shoppers spent an extra €416,000 on mineral water.
Sales of cheese and bread also rose 5.6pc and 3.8pc respectively.
Online grocery sales were also up 11.5pc year-on-year, with retailers noting an increase in shoppers and frequency of online purchases.
Shoppers spent an additional €18.9m online compared to the same period in 2023.
Kantar revealed that Tesco has overtaken Dunnes to hold the highest market share in the Irish market.
Tesco currently has a 23.3pc market share as shoppers made more regular trips to its stores.
Dunnes Stores followed with a market share of 23.2pc.
SuperValu’s market share stood at 20.2pc in the recent 12-week period. SuperValu customers make the most trips in store, the data showed.
Lidl holds a 13.8pc market share, while Aldi’s market share stood at 12pc.