Higher prices, not increased consumption, have pushed supermarket revenue past the €50 billion mark for the first time, figures from market research bureau NielsenIQ (NIQ) quoted by news media have shown.

Revenue rose by 8% to top €50 million last year NIQ said. Price hikes were particularly prevalent in the first six months of last year, with products like sugar, bread, olive oil and crisps all becoming more expensive.

Supermarkets said the the increase in energy costs and higher wages have been driving higher prices, as well as higher costs for raw materials.

“Supermarkets usually enter into long-term contracts and that means a fall in energy or raw material costs is not immediately noticeable in the pricing. It will play a role once the time comes to negotiate new contracts with providers,” NIQ researcher Marten Suurmeijer told RTL Nieuws.

The 10% increase in wages for staff, which came into effect in June last year, also played a part in the price hikes, Suurmeijer said. “You can take it as a given that those costs are also factored in,” he said.

Higher prices have wrought a change in consumer behaviour, the bureau said.

Almost 46% of all articles sold were cheaper supermarket own brands, including products like Albert Heijn crisps, Jumbo cleaning fluid and PLUS coffee beans. This boosted the market share of own brands by 1.6 percentage point compared to last year.

Alber Heijn remains market leader in the Dutch supermarket landscape, and even increased its lead in 2023, the bureau’s research showed. Some 37% of all shopping expeditions in the Netherlands lead to one of the almost 1,200 AH supermarkets.

Jumbo comes second with a market share of 21.1%. The Brabant family business has some 696 supermarkets nationwide. German discounter Lidl is in third place, with a 10% market share.