Eastern Europe

Juice, deemed non-essential, witnessed a decline in consumption in 2023, influenced by soaring prices and a decrease in disposable income within Serbia. Economically conscious consumers reduced juice consumption or migrated towards more affordable…

The competition from cheaper drinks alternatives, such as flavoured bottled water and non alcoholic beer, was increasingly felt by juice in Slovakia towards the end of the review period. This was because the typical Slovak consumer was increasingly…

100% juice is the fastest growing subcategory in juices, despite rising retail prices. These drinks are perceived as being healthier than most juices as they normally do not contain added preservatives or artificial ingredients. Consumers are keen to…

Juice was the category within soft drinks most affected by the high inflation of 2022 and 2023 and subsequent price increases of products. Juice products tend to be quite expensive for consumers in the Czech Republic. The worsening of the economic…

Juice was one of the hardest hit soft drinks categories following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and it saw only a modest recovery in retail volume terms in 2023. The category lost a tangible share of its key target audience following Russia’s…

Large cooking appliances saw a slight retail volume decline in 2023 due to high and growing price points. Large appliances have higher prices, and as such, consumers postpone their purchasing during a time of rising living costs. With a decline in…

Large cooking appliances continue to volume sales decline in 2023 for the second consecutive year, due to several factors. With many consumers having purchased functional and durable large cooking appliances in the pandemic, there was lower levels of…

Large cooking appliances face the same challenges as other major appliances (with the exception of dishwashers), leading to a slump in volume sales. Such big-ticket purchases are regarded as notable investments during a time of economic uncertainty,…

Although the mortgage market began stabilising in March 2023, the drop in new mortgages during 2021 and 2022 led to a slowdown in the real estate market. This impacted built-in kitchen sales, challenging appliance manufacturers while leading to a…

Laundry care witnessed double-digit current value growth in 2023 amid rising prices and high levels of inflation. Consumers are feeling the financial pressure and continue to reign in consumption of laundry care. Outdated products, such as bar…

While retail value sales were positive in 2023, these results were heavily driven by increased unit prices. As such, retail volume sales struggled, negatively impacted by rising inflation and reduced consumer spending power. This led to a retail…

Value sales of laundry care recorded a strong double-digit increase in 2023 as soaring inflation pushed up average unit prices. Volume sales, meanwhile, were dampened as a result of increasing price sensitivity among Croatian consumers, and…

Though inflation eased in 2023, it was still high. As such, laundry care registered marginal constant value growth and minimal volume growth. Fabric softener registered the highest value growth, but it was liquid detergent that registered the highest…

Laundry care in Georgia remains heavily dominated by powder detergents, as these are more affordable than liquid detergents and tablets. Also, consumers believe that powder laundry detergents will last longer and clean better, making them a more…

While retail value sales were double-digit, retail volume sales declined in all areas apart from other laundry aids in 2023, with sales negatively impacted by rising inflation and reduced consumer spending power. As such, consumers focused on…

In 2023, retail value growth remained double-digit in laundry care, impacted by ongoing inflation and rising price points. Liquid tablet detergents exhibited the most rapid growth in both retail volume and value, thanks to its efficient formula and…

After the huge price shocks in 2022, unit price growth in laundry care softened to single digits as inflation fell in Lithuania. Concerns regarding inflation also abated in 2023, yet consumers were still conscious when shopping for laundry care and…

Laundry care in North Macedonia saw double-digit current value growth in 2023, thanks to rising unit prices against a background of high inflation. Overall volume sales within laundry care, however, were largely stagnant in 2023, with diminished…

Due to increased prices and rising inflation, retail value growth saw a high increase in 2023, recording double-digit growth. Retail volume growth continued to be positive on the landscape, driven by detergent tablets and dryer sheets, although price…

In 2023, laundry care registered a modest overall decline in retail volume terms, although some categories, such as tablet detergents and liquid detergents, spot and stain removers and "other" laundry aids saw increases. The decline in the largest…

While retail value growth was positive in 2023, this was driven by ongoing inflation, with price rises encouraging Serbians to adapt their budgets in line with reduced disposable incomes. Many have begun to focus on essentials while consuming less…

Value growth in laundry care is being supported by inflationary price hikes, whilst volume sales remain in a decline. This is due to price-sensitive consumers budgeting in laundry care by using lower volumes of product per use, in addition to doing…

Laundry care emerges as one of the fastest-growing categories in home care, propelled by the increasingly busy and active lifestyles of consumers, leading to more soiled clothing. Fabric softeners witness significant growth within laundry care,…

Retail value sales recorded double-digit growth in 2023, driven by rising price points in line with inflation. However, while value sales were strong, retail volume sales struggled, leading to an overall volume decline in laundry care. Declines were…

After 2022’s deep decline, liquid tablet detergents posted positive growth in terms of volume sales in 2023, with this attributed to its products’ efficient formulas and user-friendly attributes. Though growth was low, it was the fastest in the…

With no pandemic-related movement and travel restrictions mandated by the government, foodservice continues to recover in 2023. Limited-services restaurants, in particular, are recording strong value growth as a result of strong and renewed consumer…

Soaring inflation pushed menu prices in limited-service restaurants to new highs in 2023, although operators are always careful when considering price adjustments, especially for their signature meals. Core target audiences, such as students and…

Limited-service restaurants in Poland saw growth in transactions and current value sales slow in 2023 as stubbornly high inflation continued to drive up menu prices and make consumers more cautious in their spending habits. However, the downturn was…

The positive performance of limited-service restaurants in 2023 was aided by the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in March 2022, allowing limited-service restaurants to appeal through the convenience they provide. In addition, the high cost of living…

While inflation remained high in 2023, government measures aimed at protecting the hospitality sector benefitted limited-service restaurants. In particular, the reduced 10% VAT rate (from a previous 20%), which was introduced during the pandemic, was…

Current value and transaction growth rates for limited-service restaurants in the Czech Republic in 2023 were down substantially on the previous two years. This was partly due to the stabilisation of consumption patterns following a post-pandemic…

Russia’s war in Ukraine has created challenging economic conditions and a difficult operating environment which has presented significant obstacles for players operating within limited-service restaurants. Sales plummeted in value and volume terms in…

Lodging suffered significantly during the pandemic with the number of room nights booked and value sales dropping dramatically. Nonetheless, most lodging establishments and hotels managed to endure the crisis although many have been financially…

2023 saw many of Croatia’s lodging operators facing huge pressure on their margins as the impact of high inflation hit their cost structures from two angles. On the one hand, dramatic increases in the cost of fuel and numerous other inputs over the…

Much like Budapest, smaller cities and regional areas in Hungary have witnessed significant increases in lodging supply in recent years, particularly since the easing of the pandemic and the ending of related restrictions. A key driver of growth in…

Lodging (destination) is recovering in Poland, with both opportunities and challenges seen. In fact, there are a number of challenges faced by those in the lodging industry in Poland. Notably, here we cite the weakened purchasing power of consumers…

The very favourable performance recorded in lodging in Romania during 2023 can be seen as the consequence of rising occupancy rate, which led directly to dynamic growth in room nights as well as spurring the development and opening of new hotels. The…

Lodging operators remain under intense pressure with regards to price in 2023. All operating expenses have increased at an unprecedented rate (well above the general inflation), putting upward pressure on lodging prices. With the cost of living…

Luxury hotels see the slowest recovery due to a gradual return of foreign tourists to the Czech capital and growing inflationary pressure on overseas and domestic tourists, translating into lower spending power. The luxury category also shows the…

Although Ecuador is applying greater fiscal discipline, economic freedom remains constrained by state influence and a weak rule of law. Economic growth is set to slow further and reliance on commodity exports is very high, but inflation is relatively…

Retail current value sales of luxury goods in Romania rose by 12% in 2023 to stand at RON9.8 billion. There was a clear focus on recovery in the post-Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown period, with luxury shoppers keen to indulge in activities that may…

Since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, mass beauty and personal care has steadily recovered in current value terms. In 2022, price increases were the primary driver of current value growth as inflation soared in Bosnia and Herzegovina.…

Mass beauty and personal care in Bulgaria registered a positive performance in 2023. Whilst price increases fuelled some of this growth, the increased demand for more affordable products was also a factor as inflation remained stubbornly high. This…

Mass beauty and personal care registered a positive performance in 2023, outperforming premium beauty and personal care as the uncertain economic situation, high inflation and ongoing energy crisis forced many Croatian consumers to look for cheaper…

In 2023, retail value sales in mass beauty and personal care in Estonia recorded double-digit retail value growth. While this is below the value growth for premium offerings, the vast majority of sales are generated by mass products. Key areas for…

Mass beauty and personal care still accounted for significantly more value sales than premium in Georgia in 2023. However, its current value growth was lower. That being said, there was growth. Mass beauty and personal products are continually…

Mass beauty and personal care registered dynamic double-digit growth in current value terms in 2023, albeit this was largely due to soaring inflation, with volume sales seeing more modest growth. High inflation and declining purchasing power resulted…

Mass beauty and personal care remains the largest segment in Latvia. Despite the growing popularity of premium goods, the majority of consumers use mass products. Solid growth was posted by mass products in 2023, despite the ongoing financial…

In 2023, mass beauty and personal care products continued to drive the bulk of sales in Lithuania. Although retail value and volume growth is much lower than growth registered by the premium segment, mass items remain the core products demanded,…

Mass beauty and personal care still accounted for significantly more value sales than premium in North Macedonia in 2023. However, with inflation still being high, there was only a slight increase in constant value sales, as rising costs hit profit…