The Shopper Trends Survey compared the cost of a standard basket of basic food items in 22 countries in Europe and found that Ireland was the third most expensive country behind Norway and Denmark. The survey also looked at shopping habits and attitudes across 51 different markets.

Surprisingly, in the light of the high-profile campaign for the removal of the government ban on below cost selling on grocery items, price doesn't seem to be an important factor for Irish shoppers in choosing where they shop.

According to the survey, Irish shoppers said they were more likely to be swayed by whether the shop always had all the items they wanted in stock and whether they could buy everything they needed in one place.

The full results of the survey will be presented at retail magazine Checkout's annual conference later this week.