Heat wave and staycations bring 7.7 million euros increase in soft drink sales

Severe heat waves and holidays at home have increased spending on soft drinks, tasty snacks, burgers and grilled meats.

With mercury reaching more than 30 degrees this summer, soft drink sales increased by 7.7 million euros in the twelve weeks to August 8. Irish shoppers also spent an additional €660,000 on delicious snacks and an additional €579,000 on refrigerated burgers and grilled meats.

Sales of coffee and tea fell 8% as indoor hospitality reopened and some workers returned to their offices.

Kantar has released the latest grocery numbers for the period ending August 8. The twelve weeks through August 8 saw a 3.9% drop in sales, as indoor hospitality reopened for those fully vaccinated.

“People enjoy getting out and about again – meeting friends and going back to their favorite restaurants – and that means they don’t need to buy as much food to eat at home,” says Emer Healy, Kantar Retail Analyst.

“Some of the best-selling categories during the Covid-19 lockdowns are now seeing the biggest drop in sales. Sales of both tea and coffee are down 8% as people are gradually returning to offices and can enjoy taking a coffee break again.”

The heat wave also prompted many people to light up the barbecue and have refreshing drinks. This resulted in an additional €7.7 million spent on soft drinks as well as an additional €579,000 on burgers, grilled meats and grills.

“The impact of reopening the hospitality sector has been slightly offset by a boom in accommodations this summer. Instead of traveling abroad, many families have packed the car and headed to rental accommodations closer to home.”

“While the overall market was declining, shoppers spent an additional €7.7 million on soft drinks, an additional €664,000 on delicious snacks, and an additional €579,000 on burgers and grilled meats as they made the most of their summer and August banking holidays.” she added.

Kantar Worldpanel supermarket shares show that SuperValu has maintained its position as Ireland’s most popular supermarket with a market share of 22.6%. This represents a decrease of 2.9% since last year.

Source: Source: Kuntar

Consumers make frequent trips to SuperValu. On average, shoppers took 21.1 trips in the last 12 weeks which is the highest repeat rate among all retailers.

Tesco is currently the country’s second largest retailer, with 21.3% of the market. Don’s shares fell 1.8 percent to carry 20.9 percent.

Lidl makes up 13.0% of the market share, slightly ahead of Aldi with 12.6%.