Rising supermarket sales show we’re all (staying) in for treat

Instead of a fine meal in a restaurant or an evening at the flicks, it’s a good feed at home or a movie night in front of the widescreen TV with all the usual snacks and popcorn thrown in.

The cash saved from not going to the pub is being spent on branded foods too, instead of supermarkets’ cheaper own-label ranges – as well as carry-out drink.

The trend has been revealed by supermarket sales analysts Kantar, and the firm’s business development manager Emer Healy said: ‘Economic uncertainty and predictions of recession have failed to dampen consumer appetite for branded groceries.

‘Brands have managed to capture an impressive proportion of consumer spend over the latest period, amounting

Popular: Snacking on rise to an additional €245million and outpacing private label to grow by 23.4%. It suggests that people are choosing to treat themselves in store with little luxuries while we’re all spending more time at home.’

In the 12 weeks up to August 9, chocolate confectionery sales are up by a massive 37%, or €17.2million; crisp sales grew even faster at 39%, up €8million; fresh meat is up 15% – that’s an extra €38million – while ‘ethnic ingredients’ used to recreate the likes of Chinese and Indian dishes are up 23%, or €987,000.

But one category Kantar spotted had slumped were healthier biscuits – the likes of rice cakes and oatmeal snacks – which were down 13%.

However, booze sales have grown by a massive 56% as people do their drinking in the safety of their home.

And we’re treating ourselves in other ways too.

Ms Healy said: ‘The market overall is in really strong growth, so branded goods and own-label goods are growing, but branded is growing faster.

‘Take-home groceries are growing really strongly.

‘There’s a lot less out-ofhome occasions that consumers can spend their money on, so shoppers are looking for other ways to treat themselves and that’s where we see luxuries come in.’

Ms Healy said people are ‘snacking a lot more’, adding: ‘It’s people looking for little luxuries. The increased alcohol spend is offsetting a smaller spend in pubs with all the restrictions.

‘Teas and coffee, they’re growing too. It’s kind of replacing out-of-home occasions, where you might have grabbed a coffee out, but we’re now making it at home.’

And as for fresh cuts, Ms Healy said: ‘Meat has been growing really strongly. Burgers, grills and sausages have seen really strong growth.

‘This seems to be a trend we’ve seen over the last couple of months that shoppers are trying to recreate the takeaway dishes at home.

‘Meat sales are driven by the summer and recreating meals at home they would have had out, expensive cuts. It’s definitely affected by that. You’d go out and spend €30 on a steak dinner; you can recreate it at home for much less cost.

‘You might not be going to the cinema, so you have an athome movie night with crisps and chocolate and you’re going to buy the brands.’

All the traditional retailers registered growth over the latest 12-week period examined. Buoyed by its online offers, SuperValu continues to hold the highest market share at 22.3%, while Tesco took second place with a share of 21.1%. christian.mccashin@dailymail.ie

‘You’d spend €30 on steak dinner’