Sales of hand soap are up by 300%.
New data has revealed that the 12 weeks until 22 March 2020 have marked the busiest quarter for grocery shopping in Ireland’s history.
Due to restrictions put in place in order to curb the spread of Covid-19, such as the closure of non-essential business, grocery sales have shot through the roof as the public has sought to stock up on supplies.
March itself was the busiest month in history for Irish supermarkets, with shopper spend up 27% compared to the previous year, and growth at three times the level of 2019.
According to Kantar, the average household spent an additional €122 on groceries during the four weeks to 22 March, largely driven by shoppers making trips for bigger shops.
David Berry, Managing Director at Kantar, noted: “The products demonstrating the strongest growth show a country putting health, hygiene and practicality first.
“Sales of hand soap rose by 300% and household cleaners were up by 170% in the four weeks to 22 March. Facial tissues and loo roll were also in demand, with sales up by 140% and 86% respectively.”
Non-perishable foods are also unsurprisingly selling well, with demand for frozen foods and foods that can be stored at room temperature up by 32%.
The developments have meant good news for the supermarkets, with Dunnes, SuperValu and Tesco each seeing sales increase by just over 10%. Sales at Lidl are up by 14.7%, and Aldi by 11.9%.
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