Sales of festive chocolates have increased by more than 17% over the past three months.
Figures from Kantar show that grocery sales in the same time have fallen by 4.8% - however, it's still more than 8% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
🎄 Sales of festive chocolates increase by 17% over the past three months in the run-up to Christmas.
Overall, grocery shopping has fallen by 4.8% in the last few months, but still 8% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
(Souce: Kantar)
— Ben Finnegan (@_BenFinnegan) November 15, 2021
Online shopping of groceries has grown by 2% over the last month compared with last year.
Researchers with Kantar suggest that "increasingly busy work and social calendars" is making online shopping more convenient for consumers.
Emer Healy from the group said, "It seems everyone is looking for an excuse to celebrate and Christmas has certainly arrived in the supermarket aisles.
"With Christmas ads appearing on our screens earlier than ever, and retailers giving seasonal staples a prominent position on shelves, Irish shoppers are getting into the festive spirit.
"Seasonal biscuits and chocolate proved too tempting to resist, with sales growing by 6.2% and 17.4% year on year.
"Fresh turkey and stuffing also benefited and shoppers spent an extra €280,000 and €192,000 on the Christmas dinner must-haves.”
