France

Some trends given impetus during the pandemic remain relevant in France. As health and wellness trends continue to rise among the French population, sports, active lifestyles and the importance of daily movement continue to gain traction. The…

Lodging fared better in 2022 than had been expected and continues to perform well in 2023. 2020 and 2021 were a disaster for the hotel industry, with occupancy rates of 38% and 48% respectively, according to INSEE – French official statistics. The…

Whilst still seeing sales declines, imaging devices is faring better in 2023 than seen in 2022. However, we should consider that imaging devices has been in a decline for a decline, due to the growing use of smartphones for taking photographs and…

Sugar confectionery saw further progress in 2023, with retail volume sales exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Growth was boosted by the revival of children’s birthday parties and other social occasions, which led consumers to embrace sweets as an…

RTDs posted slight growth in total volume terms in 2022, in continuation to an already good performance in 2021. 2022 benefitted from a more festive ambient than seen in 2020 to early 2021 due to the pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, along with…

Despite administrative complexities, sales of spectacles in France are set to maintain steady growth in both volume and current value terms throughout 2023, although this is likely to vary across different regions and types of opticians –…

The pet care industry in France has been hit hard by price rises, which started in 2022 and have continued into 2023. Manufacturers and retailers have faced mounting pressure to raise prices due to increasing costs, including raw materials,…

Depilatories saw small positive volume growth in 2022, in addition to stronger value growth driven by inflation. These sales are attributed to the post-pandemic catch-up effect, in addition to a hot summer in France in 2022 compared to the gloomier…

Throughout 2020 and most of 2021, consumers in France were confined to their homes for extended periods of time due to the pandemic. Gardening emerged as a popular activity during this period, providing a source of pleasure and a way for consumers to…

Against all expectations, and despite a huge drop during the first half of 2020, not only was direct selling one of the most resilient non-grocery channels during 2020, but it was also able to rebound in 2021 and 2022, returning to the pre-pandemic…

Sanitary protection in France is a reasonably consistent category, given the light population increase every year. The demand and purchasing rate for these goods is stable given the regularity of use by the menstruating population. The main downtrend…

Air care remains a niche category which was boosted by the onset of the pandemic, during which people remained at home and sought to make their living spaces cosier. Despite an expected sales slump following this boost, the new hybrid working models…

Retail value sales of digestive remedies are recording subdued but positive growth in 2023, driven by heightened health awareness among the local population, including a greater focus on digestive health. French consumers are becoming increasingly…

Value growth for dermatologicals continues to slow in 2023 as local consumers prioritise the treatment of other health concerns. According to a study led by the French Society of Dermatology (SFD), one in three French citizen suffers from a skin…

France’s travel industry is on the path to recovery in 2023 having already seen strong growth in inbound arrivals in 2022. Admittedly, the context is not ideal with Russia’s war in Ukraine, soaring inflation, and more cautious consumption habits…

After an impressive recovery in 2022 as COVID-19 fears subsided, tourism flows have continued to post strong growth in 2023. There are no longer any restrictions in place while the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 pandemic to be over…

Wearable electronics is the best performing category in consumer electronics in France in 2023, albeit still in a small volume decline, with this being a notable slump following the positive sales seen in 2022. That said, much of this is attributed…

Mobile phones is one of the best performing categories (after wearable electronics and headphones) in consumer electronics in France in 2023, albeit still showing volume declines due to inflationary pressures reducing consumers’ spending power. That…

Home video is suffering from the cross-category trends which are resulting in declining sales. Firstly, there is an organic slump in sales following the boom seen during the pandemic years, when consumers were upgrading their home entertainment…

While 2021 was an atypical year in sales of spirits, leading to small positive growth, volume sales fell into a small negative decline in 2022 – as per the structure of the category pre-pandemic. However, this hides another atypical trend – namely…