Supermarkets enjoyed their best trading month ever through March 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Grocery market data from Kantar shows sales in the four weeks to March 22 advanced 27% year-on-year.

Grocery sales reached €2.8 billion in the past 12 weeks, topping last year by €250 million and exceeding the previous peak seen at Christmas 2019.

Kantar says the average household spent an additional €122 on groceries during the four weeks to March 22, largely driven by shoppers making bigger trips.

At the top of the list for many shoppers were personal hygiene products and non-perishable foods.

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Kantar managing director David Berry commented: “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 March 22.  Facial tissues and loo roll were also in demand, with sales up by 140% and 86% respectively.

“Looking at our food choices, items with a longer shelf life saw the biggest uplift, as sales of frozen and ambient foods increased by 32%. While we’d expect sales to remain strong in the coming weeks and months, there will likely be a rebalancing of sales of fresh and non-perishable items as shoppers with full freezers and cupboards replenish fresh supplies.”

More households than ever before placed an online order in the four weeks to 22 March 2020, with approximately one in 10 households taking advantage of the service, 54,000 more than the same period in 2019.

Dunnes, SuperValu and Tesco each saw sales increase by just over 10%.  While the three grocers hold almost equal market share, Dunnes’ takes the largest portion at 22.3%, with SuperValu and Tesco following closely at 21.3%.

Lidl was the fastest growing of all the retailers during the 12 weeks, boosting sales by 14.7% and increasing its market share to 12.3%. Aldi matched Lidl’s market share and grew sales by 11.9%.

Despite increased demand, Kantar says grocery market inflation was 1.4% for the 12-week period ending March 22.

Kantar monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 5,000 demographically representative households in the Republic of Ireland.