Ireland

Ireland’s real GDP contracted in 2023, primarily due to subdued foreign demand, which negatively affected export-focused industries, and sluggish private investment. In 2024, Ireland’s economy is projected to rebound, underpinned by a robust labour…

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…

Population growth in Ireland from 2021-2040 will result from positive natural change and positive net migration. The stable fertility rate and birth rate above the regional average will create strong opportunities for child-related goods and services…

Wipes in Ireland witnessed robust current value growth in 2023, aided largely by higher unit prices caused by inflationary conditions. In constant value terms, sales are now back on a par with pre-pandemic levels. The largest category baby wipes saw…

Tissue and hygiene registered solid retail volume growth in 2023, reflecting the strong consumer demand for tissue and hygiene in Ireland. Overall consumption has lowered compared to 2022 levels, as demand patterns normalised within the tissue and…

Retail tissue in Ireland witnessed a second year of high current value growth in 2023, underpinned by unit price increases, as well as buoyant demand for tissue products. However, the impact of inflation has subsided in 2023, putting less pressure on…

Retail adult incontinence in Ireland registered solid growth in volume growth in 2023, with both light adult incontinence and heavy/moderate adult incontinence performing well. Rising levels of obesity in Ireland, combined with an ageing and…

Nappies/diapers/pants in Ireland witnessed only marginal volume growth in 2023, with newborn nappies/diapers and standard nappies/diapers both seeing declines. The long-term trend of falling birth rates is reducing demand for nappies, especially for…

Menstrual care in Ireland registered solid volume growth in 2023. Together with the necessity status of these products, the continued expansion of the female population aged 12-54 ensured overall demand remained stable. There has been fairly…

Away-from-home tissue and hygiene in Ireland reported robust value growth in 2023, lifted in part by higher unit prices. Away-from-home tissue performed particularly well aided by strong demand for AFH wipers. Pandemic cleaning habits continue to…

In 2023, street stalls/kiosks in Ireland was the best performing consumer foodservice channel in terms of value sales growth. This was mainly due to it being one of the most negatively impacted during the pandemic. Therefore, sales and transactions…

Self-service cafeterias in Ireland experienced 11% current value growth in 2023, although sales, transactions and outlet numbers remained below pre-pandemic levels. Several factors drove the channel’s growth. First of all, the business sector…

In 2023, limited-service restaurants in Ireland played a significant role in overall foodservice, contributing 32% share to total value sales. Limited-service restaurants not only recovered to 2019 sales levels in 2022, reaching a recovery index of…

In 2023, full-service restaurants in Ireland played a pivotal role within the broader foodservice market, contributing 30% share to total value sales. Full-service restaurants rebounded to 2019 levels in terms of value in 2023, achieving a recovery…

Despite facing considerable challenges since the pandemic, consumer foodservice in Ireland has demonstrated remarkable resilience. After experiencing a drastic decline of nearly half its value in 2020, the industry commenced its recovery at a gradual…

Leisure and travel, increasing in value sales terms by 14% and 12% respectively, were the most impressive performers in terms of consumer foodservice locations in 2023, as consumer spending rose and travel patterns returned to greater levels of…

In 2023, cafés/bars in Ireland accounted for a 37% value share of total foodservice sales. Despite a positive performance during the year, the channel did not fully recover to pre-pandemic sales levels, mainly due to the slower rebound by bars/pubs,…

The outbreak of COVID-19 led to an increase in sales of toilet care, as consumers became increasingly concerned with hygiene levels. However, in 2023, while retail value sales remained high due to inflation, retail volume suffered from rising price…