Austria

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,…

Driven by significant price increases, overall health and beauty specialists saw strong growth in value sales in Austria in 2023, roughly at the same level as retail offline overall. Consumers' willingness to spend in this category has generally…

Over 2023, headphones retail volume sales are expected to continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate as the transition to cordless models becomes more advanced. The main category, TWS earbuds, is set to remain the key growth driver. Indeed, in 2023,…

Hair care generates a healthy share of overall beauty and personal care retail sales in Austria. In 2022, hair care accounted for the second-highest retail value share in beauty and personal care, behind skin care. The demand for hair care was stable…

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…

General merchandise stores continued to significantly outperform retailing overall in terms of value sales growth due in the main to the continuing expansion and success of variety stores. It was one of the areas least affected by the generally sharp…

Austria experienced exceptionally high inflation once again in 2023, reducing consumer incomes and dampening spending in almost all areas of consumer foodservice. Foodservice operators faced increased energy, materials and labour costs, which were…

Overall, fragrances recorded mid-single digit retail current value sales growth in 2022. This performance was supported by a marginal recovery in the demand for premium fragrances, as a result of a return to more regular usage and purchasing…

Footwear has been under particular stress with the shift from traditional leather shoes to other materials and sports shoes for many years. In particularly, children’s footwear has been under pressure, and it is projected to see the biggest decline…

Demand for food preparation appliances significantly fell in 2023 for the second year in a row. Growth was impacted by the high demand seen during COVID-19 when consumers spent more time cooking at home and investing in food preparation appliances.…

Although cash transactions continued to play a strong role in Austria, a clear shift from cash to card payments continued in 2023. The outbreak of COVID-19 in Austria further accelerated the change, with consumers appreciating the contactless form of…

Elevated inflation and spiralling manufacturing costs has led to further price increases within eye care in Austria which has helped to support current value growth in 2023 but has led to a significant decline in retail volume terms. Despite seeing…

Energy drinks grew further in demand in 2023, with positive off-trade volume sales, while a much more dynamic development was noted in the on-trade channels. Energy drinks were still widely sought after in 2023 to boost energy levels either during…

Sales in edible oils continued to stabilise in 2023 in Austria, following the era of price hikes and supply disruptions. That said, the return to foodservice does somewhat place downwards pressure on potential sales, when compared to the era of home…

Drinking milk products are set to record a moderate performance in 2023. Retail volume sales will register a stagnant performance, as current retail value sales of overall drinking milk products decline compared to 2022, as average unit prices of…

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…

In 2023, dishwashing saw moderate current growth, mostly driven by hand dishwashing products. Post-pandemic, there has been a decline in volume sales as local consumers spend more time dining out, reduce the number of meals prepared and eaten at home…

Demand for dishwashers fell for the third consecutive year in 2023 at a sharp rate compared to previous years. As purchases had been brought forward during COVID-19, when consumers spent more on home appliances due to home seclusion, this led to a…

Just like grocery retailers as a whole, discounters saw strong growth in value sales in 2023, although this was almost entirely price-driven as inflation remained at unusually high levels for a second consecutive year. Demand itself only showed…

Just like retail as a whole, direct selling saw significant growth in value sales in 2023, but it was entirely price-driven as inflation remained at unusually high levels for a second consecutive year. Given the focus of direct selling in Austria on…

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…

Dietary supplements has seen mixed results in 2023 with some categories recording healthy growth while others have seen a steep drop off in demand. Overall, consumers are frequently using dietary supplements in 2023 as they look to lead healthier and…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Dairy products and alternatives is set to record stagnant current retail value sales in 2023, while dairy continues to generate the bulk of sales. With the health and wellness trend rising, dairy products benefit from generally being considered…

Driven by a general shift from cash to card payments, which was accelerated by the outbreak of COVID-19, and the continuing travel recovery, credit card transactions saw strong growth in 2023; in both the number of transactions and transition value…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies received a strong sales boost in 2022 due to consumers returning to working in the office more frequently again and kids returning to in-school classes. This led to consumers spending more time among other…

Sales in cooking ingredients and meals continued to stabilise in Austria in 2023. This is thanks to inflation starting to slow down, thus resulting in more stable food prices. For example, we can note this in edible oils, which was a category…

Just like grocery retailers as a whole, convenience retailers saw strong growth in value sales in 2023, although this was almost entirely price driven as inflation remained at unusually high levels for a second consecutive year. Demand itself only…

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…

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…

2023 was the first year since the pandemic when consumer foodservice in Austria did not face any access or opening restrictions, which naturally led to an increase in footfall and transactions. However, inflation remained unusually high for the…

Austria experienced exceptionally high inflation once again in 2023, reducing consumer incomes and dampening spending in almost all areas of consumer foodservice. Foodservice operators faced increased costs in energy, materials and labour, which were…

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…

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…

In 2023, demand for consumer appliances declined for the third consecutive year in Austria. Retail volume sales were still noticeably impacted by the increase in purchases during COVID-19, when consumers invested more in consumer appliances due to…

With consumers spending less time at home, and experiencing busier, more hectic everyday lives again, the use of concentrates became less frequent in 2023, leading to a decline in off-trade volume sales. However, results were positive for the…

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…

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…

Retail value sales of coffee continued to grow in 2023, recording positive double-digit results. However, these results were mainly driven by rising inflation and product price increases. As such, while value sales rose, retail volume sales declined,…

Volume sales of cigars and cigarillos continued to decrease in Austria in 2023, but at a significantly slower rate than cigarettes. Demand for these products experienced a strong push during the pandemic, and volume sales for both cigars and…

In 2023, the retail value sales of cigarettes in Austria continued their downward trajectory, dropping below pre-COVID-19 volume sales levels of 2019. During the pandemic, cigarette consumption had seen a temporary boost due to increased consumption…

Cider/perry saw volume sales stagnate in Austria in 2023. During the year, the category saw improved consumption in pubs and bars, as the on-trade channel continued to recover from the low point it experienced during the pandemic. However, this was…

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…

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…

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…

Driven by a shift from cash to card payments, boosted by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the continuing recovery of travel, charge cards saw solid growth in transaction and value terms. However, growth was at a slower pace compared to credit and debit…

Cat food recorded further growth in current value terms in 2023, despite a double-digit decline in volume. This was mainly due to inflationary pressures, as manufacturers passed on the rising costs of raw materials to consumers. The trend towards…