Austria

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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,…

Herbal/traditional products has continued to grow in current value terms in 2023 albeit volume growth has been curbed by financial uncertainty, high inflation and a sharp rise in the cost of living. With incomes stretched consumers have been focusing…

With some respite in some categories, such as hi-fi systems, home cinema and speaker systems, speakers, and “other” home audio and cinema, due to the fall back on the home for entertainment in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, home…

In 2023, home care recorded current value growth, primarily driven by price increases attributable to inflation and, in a few instances, premiumisation and innovation. The escalating time constraints of local consumers have fuelled the demand for…

In Austria, the rise in insects attributed to increasing temperatures linked with climate change has led to a significant increase in the demand for insecticide baits in 2023. Hospitality and tourism operators have also sought methods to control…

Demand for home laundry appliances fell in 2023 for a second consecutive year. The development in home laundry appliances was in line with the major appliances landscape, while the volume decline was less severe than in dishwashers. Impacting retail…

Consumer restraint affected the entire retail sector in 2023, but it was particularly pronounced in home products specialists. Consumers had already invested heavily in their homes during the pandemic, when they were spending much more time at home.…

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…

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…

Total volume sales of hot drinks recorded minimal growth in 2023, driven by on-trade sales and positive developments within tea and other hot drinks. High saturation levels contributed to a slowdown in growth, especially across retail channels.…

During 2022, convenience and health and wellness remained two of the most important megatrends influencing demand patterns among Austrian consumers and this combination of a desire to eat healthier types of convenience food supported strong growth in…

2022 saw further expansion of the subgroup of Austrian consumers who are paying significant attention to their physical and mental health and the role that their diet plays in maintaining good physical and mental health. This has supported rising…

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…

Health and wellness savoury snacks remained highly popular among Austrian consumers at the end of the review period as significant numbers of local consumers looked to reduce their intake of snacks that are high in salt, fat and artificial…

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…

Animal welfare continues to play an increasingly important role in the grocery shopping decisions of Austrian consumers and this strong focus on animal welfare continues to have a positive impact on demand for health and wellness processed meat.…

Just like grocery retailers as a whole, hypermarkets 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…

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…

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…

In Austria, in-car entertainment is set to see a strong decline in overall retail volume sales in 2023, continuing the fast downward trajectory in demand over the review period. Indeed, in terms of the review period, declines are expected to be the…

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…

After the substantial increases in past years, fuelled by the outbreak of COVID-19 and increased time spent in households, retail volume sales of juice recorded a slowdown in 2023. In addition, there was a further shift towards on-trade sales,…

Demand for large cooking appliances fell in 2023 for the second year in a row. However, due to the essential nature of the products included in the category and the strong dominance of replacement sales, the retail volume drop in large cooking…

In 2023, laundry care saw healthy current value growth, primarily driven by the introduction of innovative products, particularly within the categories of laundry detergents and liquid fabric softeners. These products enabled local consumers to wash…

As a result of the energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Austria saw exceptionally high inflation for the second year in a row in 2023. For local consumers, this meant less disposable income and a concomitant reluctance to spend…

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…

Mass beauty and personal care continued to account for the vast majority of overall beauty and personal care retail value and volume sales in 2022. Mass beauty and personal care recorded strong growth in retail current value terms, albeit boosted by…

Meals and soups saw strong value growth in Austria in 2023, driven by inflationary pressures leading to high unit prices, while volume sales are also bouncing back into stronger positive growth. That said, challenges remain, as while inflationary…