Austria

Although disposable income slowly recovered in 2023 compared to repeatedly high inflation, consumers remained relatively frugal in their spending on apparel and footwear. Many made savings by opting for apparel or footwear and reduced their shopping…

The demand for chocolate confectionery remained stable in 2023, with a slight increase in volume terms but a solid rise in value sales. Value growth stemmed largely from increases in average unit prices. The overall rate of inflation in the country…

Insights and data on the traditional automotive sector and the mobility industry can help businesses examine how changing travel patterns will impact future consumer behaviour. Growing climate pressures and rising urbanisation rates are pushing…

The strong decline in retail volume sales of imaging device is expected to continue over 2023, albeit at a slower rate compared to the years since the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. The main reason for the downward…

Following a spike in 2020, when the exigencies of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced consumers to focus on home entertainment, retail volume sales of televisions have continued to fall sharply. The market size of televisions fell below the…

Coronavirus (COVID-19) measures saw lockdowns, remote working and restrictions on socialising. This resulted in many consumers spending long periods at home and less time in the office or on social or leisure activities during the pandemic. As a…

Despite ongoing inflationary pressures, pet products continued to show modest growth in current value terms in 2023. With consumers returning to increasingly busy lifestyles, the acknowledged role of pets in creating balance in otherwise stressful…

Pet care recorded further growth in current value terms in 2023, despite an overall decline in volume. While inflation remained a key factor in boosting value sales, higher-quality, premium products with added benefits also supported growth to some…

Dog food recorded positive growth in both volume and current value terms in 2023, following the sluggish performance of the previous year. While value growth was driven partially by price increases, premiumisation and specialisation trends also…

Loans became more expensive for consumers in 2023, as a result of the European Central Bank's interest rate policy, with rates rising in response to high inflation in the EU since the energy crisis broke out in 2022 and the war in Ukraine began. The…

Given the economic uncertainty at the end of the review period, Austrian consumers purchased fewer apparel accessories. While the boom in fashion face masks (“other” apparel accessories) ensured a positive retail volume growth performance overall in…

Tourism flows to from and within Austria in 2023 continued to evolve strongly towards pre-pandemic levels, as most of the fears around travel and social distancing inherited during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) period dissipated. In the aftermath of the…

The demand for lodging continued to increase in 2023. Hotel room nights are set to be only slightly below the 2019 pre-pandemic level at the end of the review period, while inflationary pressure on prices saw current value sales exceed the 2019…

Sales of vitamins have continued to drop sharply in retail volume terms in 2023, with price inflation unable to prevent the category from recording a decline in current value terms, too. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 there was a surge in demand…

Digestive remedies continues to see strong mid-single digit growth in current value terms in 2023, albeit this is mainly being driven by price increases rather than an increase in demand. High inflation and the rising cost of manufacturing and…

The World Health Organisation declared the end of the COVID-19 health crisis in 2023 with this having an overall negative impact on sales of consumer health in retail volume terms. For example, demand for products with a strong focus on immune health…

Austria is a country with a strong tradition of cheese-making, and the consumption of a wide range of cheese remains very popular in the country, leading cheese to account for the largest share of value sales within overall dairy products and…

Prepared baby food continues to generate a substantial part of baby food's current retail value sales, with glass jars and pouches being extremely popular due to the high levels of convenience they offer. As such, prepared baby food is set to…

The downward trend in mobile phones, following a brief increase in retail volume sales of smartphones during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, is set to continue over 2023. The replacement cycle in smartphones seems to have finally peaked,…

Retail volume and current value sales of deodorants suffered during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic due to the shift to home office and generally spending more time at home in accordance with lockdowns. As COVID-19 regulations were relaxed as the…

Retail volume sales of womenswear are projected to fall over 2023. This is partly due to stabilisation following two years of rebound, especially in 2022, from the slump recorded during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. However, demand has…

Sportswear in Austria is starting to show signs of saturation after an excellent recovery from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Many consumers purchased sportswear/athleisure for comfort and ease during long periods at home in the wake of…

Savoury snacks experienced significant growth in value terms during 2023. However, this significant value growth stemmed mainly from price increases, with inflation remaining high in Austria for the second consecutive year. Within snacks, savoury…

The trend towards plant-based products, including ice cream, continued in 2023. Plant-based ice cream recorded the most significant growth within ice cream during the year. Not only is the consumer interest in plant-based ice cream growing, but the…

After low demand during the pandemic years, gum sales were up in 2023, after experiencing a revival in 2022. The relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions and the reduced incidence of wearing masks pushed up demand for chewing gum in 2023. Gum is mainly…

Sharp price increases for a second year in a row failed to significantly dampen the strong demand for travel, and passenger numbers recovered strongly to move towards the 2019 pre-pandemic level. In 2022, sharp increases in fuel and energy prices,…

Dermatologicals is seeing mid-single digit growth in current value terms in 2023, although like many areas of consumer health this is largely the result of price increases. Prices have been rising across all categories of dermatologicals as a result…

Sales in sauces, dips and condiments maintained demand in Austria in 2023, resulting in positive value growth underlined by still-high prices, alongside smaller volume growth due to the baseline demand. These factors are being driven by…

Consumer restraint affected the entire retail market in 2023, but appliances and electronics specialists was one of the categories most negatively affected.

Consumer credit has experienced a significant drop in all areas of gross lending in 2023. In light of the sharp increases in the cost of living since 2022, Austrians have generally been frugal with expenditure. Individuals are focused on meeting…

Store cards remained a niche in Austria in 2023, continuing a downward trend with a double-digit decline in transaction values despite the continuing shift to card payments. Most consumers in Austria are unfamiliar with store cards, and the usage of…

Debit card transactions remained the main driver behind the shift from cash to card payments in 2023. Every bank account holder in Austria owns at least one debit card, which is heavily favoured for payments at the POS, with debit card consumers…

Men’s jeans and women’s jeans are projected to see retail volume sales decline across price segments over 2023. In Austria, the purchase of new jeans was not a priority at the end of the review period, with many consumers already owing one or more…

Hosiery slowed down in Austria in 2023 in comparison with 2022, as the cost of living crisis instilled caution over spending among consumers. Additionally, consumers purchased more hosiery in 2022, after two years of reduced demand due to the…

Purchasers of childrenswear focused on quality and less at quantity as they became more mindful of personal finances and textile waste. Still high inflation in 2023 translated into retail current value growth, despite the decline in retail volume…

Sugar confectionery registered good growth in value and volume terms during 2023. Pastilles, gums, jellies and chews continued to generate the largest proportion of value sales and experienced good value growth in 2023, contributing strongly to the…

Austrian consumers are extremely fond of snacking. Whether confectionery, savoury snacks, ice cream or sweet biscuits, snacks bars and fruit snacks, consumers like to treat themselves with a snack. The demand for snacks remained stable in 2023 with…

Price increases remained noticeably high in many categories towards the end of the review period. This is the main reason consumer electronics is projected to see only a slight drop in retail value sales, at least in current terms, over 2023, with…

Skin care saw healthy retail current value growth in 2022, although retail volume sales dropped following slight-to-moderate increases through the review period, including during the height of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 and 2021.…

Colour cosmetics registered a dynamic performance in 2022. Colour cosmetics posted weak performances due to low consumer demand in 2020 and 2021, largely determined by the exigencies of Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns. Consumers spent more time at…

There is expected to be a further strong decline in retail volume sales across computers and peripherals in Austria over 2023. There was a shift in demand towards specialised products in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as consumers…

Consistent with a return to busier, more hectic lifestyles in 2023, a growing number of consumers opted for perceived lower maintenance pet options, such as small mammals or those kept in an aquarium or terrarium. As a result, other pet food…

Following the record-high growth rates for Butter during 2022, due to inflation and the higher cost of energy, boosting price points, the average unit price of Butter slightly declined in 2023. The amount of special offers for branded butter products…

Men’s grooming saw a marginal increase in retail volume sales and strong rise in retail current value sales in 2022. This followed two years of decline, largely due to the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The improved performance of…

Closed loop pre-paid card transactions in Austria are essentially merchant-issued gift cards, and demand for these continued to increase in 2023. In a time of persistently high inflation with increased prices of essentials such as food and petrol,…

A wide range of health and wellness soft drinks categories recorded positive retail volume growth in 2022 as consumers prioritised various health and wellness attributes when purchasing soft drinks. The increased interest in improving one’s diet to…

The health and wellness industry continues to grow in importance post-pandemic as consumers become more aware of the negative health impact of processed foods, seeking healthier foods and beverages from a range of claims such as natural, organic,…

In 2023, plant-based dairy is set to perform well, with average unit prices remaining relatively stable. The demand for plant-based products continues as more and more consumers take an interest in animal welfare, the environment and health.…

Overall, in 2022, bath and shower saw a drop in retail volume sales and slow growth in retail current value sales, underpinned by higher prices. However, performances varied strongly from category to category. Having seen exponential growth in 2020,…

Coffee remains the most popular and most commonly consumed hot drink in Austria. On average, Austrian consumers drink around three cups of coffee per day and it should therefore come as little surprise that many local consumers aim to integrate their…