We’ll drink to that.
Summertime in Ireland often sees a surge in figures of drinks sales. Throw in a heatwave and a World Cup – and publicans are laughing all the way to the bank.
The latest grocery market share figures have been published online by Kantar Worldpanel, an international company dealing in consumer knowledge and insights based on continuous consumer panels.
A report which was published this week for the twelve weeks ending 15 July, show sales soaring by 3.1% in the midst of the recent summer heatwave.
Bottled water and lager both came out on top – claiming a sales growth of 27.3% and 11.6% respectively.
Copious amounts of sun cream and burgers were also recorded, but the most astounding growth seen is definitely that of alcohol beverages – with an extra seven million more pints than expected purchased. That’s an 11.6% increase over a period of a few weeks.
We’re nothing if not predictable.
“A number of things may have influenced the surge of bottled water sales in Ireland,” Douglas Faughnan, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, commented on the growth.
“In particular the recent weather, speculation surrounding water shortages and this month’s hosepipe ban. Irish shoppers bought bottled water on 1.8 million more occasions in the latest 12 weeks compared to the same period last year, helping sales grow by over a quarter.
“Furthermore, a Europe-wide shortage of CO2 may have stifled sales of carbonated water, which grew at a third of the rate of still water, with retailers and manufacturers shifting their focus to stills where necessary.”
Faughnan went on to explain that lager was the real winner overall.
“Despite Ireland’s association with stout, it is lager that is actually leading the way – 42.4% of households bought lager at least once in the past 12 weeks, as shoppers took advantage of the sun and the football.”
A number of supermarkets across the country benefitted financially from the heatwave and World Cup combo, with overall sales up across the board.
The study also found that in-store marketing activity played an important role in driving spend from existing customers, with recent successful campaigns in-store resulting in shoppers putting an average of 4.7% more items in their baskets on each trip.
The report can be found in full here.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
