Our EFMP Irish Partners, FMI, give an overview of the retail trends in Ireland during the 2022 Christmas period. While the holiday season is a time for joy, gifts, and celebrations, it is also one of the busiest shopping times of the year, and this year was no exception. During this period shopping habits change, people adjust their budgets in attempts to make the most of the festive season. In the lead-up to Christmas 2022 people shopped little, but more frequently, allowing them to better manage their budgets and ensure that they had everything they needed for the holiday season. According to Kantar data this resulted in a 10% year-on-year (YoY) growth in the last four weeks leading up to Christmas equating to an increase of €119 million spent in 2022. A total of €1.3 billion was spent during the 4 week Irish Xmas period in 2022 on take-home grocery items. .
Shoppers also spent 20% more on average during the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas than they would during an average week, and on Christmas Eve alone, shoppers spent €100 million. This is a significant increase from previous years and shows that despite cost-of-living challenges the Irish shoppers are still eager to celebrate the holiday season, which highlights the importance of the holiday season for retailers.
In terms of products, private label brands showed a significant increase in value compared to traditional brands. In 2020, brands grew by 17% while private label product sales grew by 12.1%, compared to 2022 where brands sales only grew by 8% while private label grew by 13%. This trend was driven by two of the top retailers, Dunnes and Lidl, with Tesco also showing strong growth in the private label market, making it a competitive and exciting time for the Irish retail industry.
Looking ahead to 2023, inflation is expected to level off during the second half of the year, with an average of 5.6%. Take-home grocery sales growth is forecast to be between 4% to 5.5%.
The trends of people shopping little but more frequently, and the shift towards private label products, are expected to continue in 2023. Key seasonal events are becoming increasingly important, as budgetary pressures drive different shopping missions. Retailers are looking for collaboration and partnerships to take advantage of these trends and meet the needs of their customers.