The cost of the average Christmas dinner has risen this year, largely due to higher prices for turkey, stuffing and sparkling wine.
An analysis by Kantar has found that a meal for four people this Christmas will cost €30.97, which is 4.3 per cent or €1.30 more than last year.
A survey of prices for 11 items found increases in the cost of a small whole turkey (€5.45), stuffing (€2.57) and a bottle of sparkling wine (€9.59). A price of a portion of parsnips, which costs €0.69, fell by almost 25 per cent compared with last year.
Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar, said prices had been put under pressure by supply chain issues, Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. Grocery price inflation stands at 1.2 per cent over the past 12 weeks, the highest level since February.
“Shoppers will inevitably feel the impact on their Christmas budgets this year and we’re already seeing prices for some festive stables nudge up,” Healy said. “Even with these rising prices, it hasn’t really dampened shoppers’ spirits or the desire to celebrate with family or friends.”
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The study said the volume of Irish grocery sales dropped by 6.4 per cent between September and the end of November. The market “remains strong”, however: sales are up 8.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.
Healy said that online grocery sales might continue to grow as people limit their activities because of the most recent Covid-19 restrictions.
Online grocery sales have increased by 14.3 per cent in the past four weeks — with one in ten people buying their groceries online. “I don’t think Ireland has seen the peak of what’s to come with online,” she said. “It will be interesting to see how new restrictions impact consumer behaviour over the festive period.”
Healy also said that all the major grocers recorded sales growth compared with two years ago, adding that lockdowns had“shifted the goalposts” in how people shop.
