Inflation on groceries has hit an all-time high of 11% - as Irish shoppers have flocked to own-brand products to try and cut costs.
Back-to-school prices over the last four weeks have also risen, with essentials (bread, ham, cheese, yoghurt, cereal and milk) rising by 19.5%, making a basket of these staples €2 more expensive in the week up to September 4.
The most basic items saw some of the biggest jumps with bread up 20%, ham up 12%, milk up 26% and yoghurt up 17%, new research by Kantar shows.
The Irish Grocery Market Share flor September reveals that overall, inflation is up 11% - though customers are now turning to supermarket's own-brand products to try and save some money.
In the latest 12 weeks, sales of own-label products are up 5.8%, representing an additional €72m year-on-year. Value own-label ranges, the very cheapest products in the range, saw even stronger growth up 21.4% compared to the same period last year as shoppers spent an additional €10.2m.
Emer Healy, Kantar senior analyst, comments: "Grocery price inflation is at its highest level since Kantar began tracking grocery price inflation in May 2008. As food and drink prices continue to climb alongside increasing pressure on other household bills, the impact is unavoidable for many Irish consumers.
"The average annual grocery bill could go from €6,985 to €7,753 – that’s an additional €768 a year that Irish consumers will have to spend if they do not make any changes to what they currently buy or where they shop"
Top supermarkets
Dunnes Stores remains the most popular supermarket, with Kantar's research noting that they traditionally do well during back-to-school season.
They have a 22.3% share of the market and grew by over 7% year on year thanks to new shoppers and an increase in the number of trips to the shops people are taking.
Tesco sits at 21.9% share, with sales up 3.9% compared to last year as shoppers return to store more often (6.6%), while SuperValu (21.4% share) continues to attract more trips than any other retailer, with an average of 21.5 trips made in the last 12 weeks.
Lidl holds 13.2% share growing 3.5% year- on-year, while rival low-cost retailer Aldi sits at 12.7% share an increase of 1.4% as a result of existing shoppers retuning to store more often.
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