New figures just published show Tesco’s market share has fallen by 4.7%. Tesco was the only major supermarket chain to see its sales drop, according to data published by the research company Kantar WorldPanel.

German discounters Aldi and Lidl made steady gains and now control 16.3% of the market. Kantar says nearly two-thirds of all households shopped in each of the two retailers during the past quarter.

Supervalu is now close to overtaking Tesco as its market share rose to 24.5%, an increase of 0.9%. And Dunnes Stores saw a slight rise in its share to 23.5%.

Overall, Kantar found that grocery sales rose by 1.1% over the 12 weeks ending 9 November, meaning an extra €23 million at the tills for the country’s retailers.

“One reason for this growth is improved confidence among Irish shoppers which is illustrated by a marginal return to growth for branded grocery products,” said David Berry, commercial director at Kantar Worldpanel, ”Since the recession began branded sales have been in decline, so a return to growth is a positive prospect for recovery.”