Ireland

In 2024, sweet biscuits, snack bars and fruit snacks in Ireland is seeing retail volume sales return to modest growth as price increases slow down. This is following a negative year for retail volume sales in 2023. The high cost of wheat, which is a…

Sugar confectionery in Ireland is among the categories heavily affected by rising production costs in 2024, having already recorded losses in retail volume terms in 2023 as product prices limited impulse purchases. Global sugar shortages are expected…

Overall snacks in Ireland in 2024 is in a state of recovery following the inflationary pressures of 2023. 2023 saw falling growth in retail volume sales, thanks to price increases driven by the heightened cost of key raw materials such as wheat,…

Savoury snacks in Ireland is seeing sustained demand though a fairly flat performance in 2024. The category suffered from steep price increases in 2023, resulting from rising costs of raw materials oil, wheat and potatoes. In retail volume terms,…

Ice cream in Ireland in 2024 is recovering, having been one of the snacks categories most severely impacted by inflationary pressures. The heightened cost of milk, sugar and cocoa, key ingredients in ice cream production, led to high single0digit…

Gum in Ireland is recording marginally positive retail volume sales growth in Ireland in 2024, following on from a pattern set in 2023 when inflation impacted consumer spending. Pressures remain in 2024 even though inflation has slowed somewhat.…

In 2024, chocolate confectionery in Ireland remains impacted by the global cocoa and sugar shortages, which continue to drive strong price increases. High single-digit price hikes follow on from the previous year’s double-digit rises. The…

Wine sales continued to decline in 2023, following an ongoing trend. One key factor for this is the high prices attributed to wine, notably so for sparkling wine and champagne, with these subcategories typically being expensive, and also affecting…

Spirits achieved marginal volume growth in Ireland in 2023. While off-trade sales saw a sub-decimal volume decline, this was balanced by small positive growth in on-trade sales. This is supported by mixology trends, alongside the fact that cocktails…

Despite the rise of RTDs as a competitive category in alcoholic drinks, volume sales in RTDs in Ireland slumped in 2023. This is attributed to the normalisation effect following the atypical spikes and crashes seen in sales through the pandemic era…

Cider/perry slumped into a marginally negative volume performance in Ireland in 2023, following robust volume sales seen in 2022. However, cider remains fairly resilient through on-trade channels. Therefore, this fall is attributed to the…

Beer slumped into negative volume figures in Ireland in 2023, following the strong growth seen in 2022. This is attributed to the normalisation period following the atypical spikes and crashes in sales cause by the pandemic lockdowns followed by the…

Volume sales in alcoholic drinks in Ireland declined in 2023, in both on-trade and off-trade terms, while value sales are being better supported by hikes in unit prices. This is attributed a pattern of normalisation after the atypical spikes and…

Tobacco in 2023 was impacted by the Irish government’s decision to keep increasing tobacco taxes, positioning the price for a pack of 20 cigarettes and per stick as the most expensive in western Europe. Further, Ireland continues to have one of the…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco saw growth driven by closed system single use vapes in Ireland in 2023, with double-digit growth in volume and value. The growing popularity of disposable vapes is the result of their low…

In 2023, retail volume sales of cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Ireland continued their downward trend. While cigars and cigarillos are not subject to as many tax increases as cigarettes, in comparison to some other European countries they…

In 2023, the Irish cigarette market continued to decline, with volume sales dropping fast. Many factors contributed to this double-digit decline – the high cost of living and rising tobacco product taxes are two of the main causes. Ireland is…

Like other pet care categories, pet products in Ireland is impacted by strong economic challenges, such as inflationary pressure on prices and economic insecurity. These economic factors continue to exert pressure on consumer spending into 2024. As a…

Pet care in Ireland continues to face pressure from the global economic climate, with rising costs of raw materials, energy, production and transportation impacting the domestic industry into 2024. However, these economic effects have been less…

The overall performance of other pet food in Ireland is supported by growing interest in the keeping of small mammals as pets. The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) has revealed a doubling in the number of small mammals…

Dog food in Ireland is expected to continue to face challenges over 2024, marked by slow retail volume growth. This is attributed to dog population constraints in conjunction with inflationary pressures. The Dublin Society for the Prevention of…

In 2024, cat food in Ireland is expected to continue to see retail current value growth stem from price escalations. However, the rise in the average unit price of cat food is projected to be slower than in 2023. This is predicted to lead to a lower…

In 2023, sun care in Ireland benefited from the end of COVID-19, with consumers returning to holidays and beach trips, acquiring sun creams for these occasions. Although the Irish economy faced challenges, the landscape recorded positive results as…

In 2023, the struggling economy shaped results on the skin care landscape in Ireland. High inflation and declining GDP resulted in a fall in average disposal income. While retail value growth remained positive, driven by rising prices, retail volume…

In 2023, premium beauty and personal care ranges recorded a stronger performance than mass goods despite the challenging economic environment and ongoing high inflation. This was mainly due to the very strong performance of premium ranges within…

In 2023, oral care in Ireland showcased positive results, with rising retail volume growth in areas such as dental floss, mouthwashes/dental rinses, tooth whiteners, and toothpaste. Despite the economic conditions, oral health remained important to…

In 2023, the economic situation limited growth for men's grooming in Ireland. Irish consumers suffered from high inflation and declining GDP growth, eroding their purchase power. Consequently, many consumers moved away from purchasing male-specific…

In 2023, economic factors have shaped the performance of mass beauty and personal care in Ireland. High inflation, rising prices in energy and transport, and a declining GDP growth have all had an impact on sales, with shrinking disposable incomes…

Hair care in Ireland recorded positive retail value sales in 2023, while retail volume recorded growth in areas including colourants, conditioners and treatments, and shampoos. With high inflation and negative GDP, disposable incomes decreased. This…

In 2023, fragrances in Ireland recorded double-digit retail value growth due to rising inflation. However, despite price rises and negative GDP shrinking the average disposable income, premium fragrances performed better than their mass counterparts…

Depilatories in Ireland in 2023 recorded a positive performance, with hair removers/bleaches and women's razors and blades showcasing positive retail volume and value growth. Poor economic indicators with shrinking disposable incomes and high…

Following a strong performance in 2022, deodorants in Ireland continued to record positive retail value and volume sales in 2023. While price increases supported strength in retail value, volume sales remained positive in deodorant creams, pumps,…

In 2023, colour cosmetics in Ireland saw positive retail value growth, somewhat driven by rising prices. Inflation in cosmetics was higher in 2023 than in 2022, impacting consumers purchasing decisions across the landscape, resulting in premium…

In 2023, Ireland's beauty and personal care landscape was influenced by high inflation rates, with economic uncertainty shaping consumer spending. Consumers focused on essential items in response to declining disposable incomes, leading to a fall in…

In 2023, bath and shower in Ireland registered positive retail value sales, driven by rising prices, while retail volume growth was challenged. With the threat of COVID-19 having reduced, habits that formed during the pandemic – such as hand…

In 2023, despite rising inflation and growing price consciousness, baby and child-specific products in Ireland recorded positive retail volume growth. Many consumers continue to spend and invest in products for children during economic uncertainty,…

Vending sales slumped in 2023 in Ireland, compared to a better performance seen in 2022. This is attributed to the inflationary environment leading to low consumer spending power, as well as a normalisation effect following the uptick seen in 2022 as…

Supermarkets was facing some ongoing challenges in Ireland in 2023, following on from the change in consumer behaviour which was seen both during the era of the pandemic and also currently, due to the cost-of-living crisis. Similarly to hypermarkets,…

Sales in small local grocers start to creep up again in Ireland in 2023. However, some challenges remain, as this channel also faces competition from other retail options. Whilst small local grocers tend to offer proximity convenience to consumers,…

Retail in Ireland continued to be impacted by inflationary pressures and high utility costs through 2023, affecting consumers and retailers alike. That said, we did witness some easing of pressures later in the year, both in product pricing and…

Retail e-commerce continued to stabilise in Ireland in 2023, following the significant boom seen during the era of the pandemic, when both consumers and retailers alike were forced to embrace the online channel. Whilst footfall has returned to…

Hypermarkets struggled in Ireland in 2023, due to a variety of factors. One such is the fact such stores, being large in size, were strongly affected by the hikes in energy bills and associated utilities. This made it challenging for hypermarket…

Home products specialists saw stagnant growth in Ireland in 2023. This is attributed to the boom in home improvements over the pandemic lockdowns, which has since eased off. Added to which, inflationary pressures and the cost-of-living crisis are…

Sales in health and beauty specialists slumped into a negative performance in Ireland in 2023, following a positive pattern in 2022. We note that the 2022 growth was primarily driven by the growing health and wellbeing and preventative health trends,…

The performance of general merchandise stores in Ireland in 2023 was being supported by the positive trajectory of department stores. There was a strong rebound in department stores in 2022, following the disruptions seen during the era of the…

Discounters maintained growth in Ireland in 2023, thanks to offering affordable goods to price-sensitive consumers. Indeed, discounters continue to expand their ranges of products, thus, to appeal to a wider range of consumers who are seeking…

Direct selling remained in a relatively steep slump in Ireland in 2023, due to strong competition from a variety of other shopping channels which offer wider ranges of goods at lower prices – both online and offline. Added to which, inflationary…

Inflationary pressures, notably in food, drove value growth in convenience retailers in 2023. Here we note the cost of everyday essentials, such as butter, milk, flour, and eggs. While this supports value sales due to the higher prices, retailers in…

Appliances and electronics specialists saw sales plummet in Ireland in 2023, following positive growth in 2022. This slump is attributed to consumers seeing lower spending power due to inflationary pressures and the cost-of-living crisis, whereas in…

Apparel and footwear specialists maintained double-digit value growth in 2023, following a significant sales boom the previous year. The 2022 sales boost was attributed to this being the first full year without pandemic-related restrictions, driven…