Retailing

In 2023, general merchandise stores recorded strong current value sales growth. Much of this stemmed from the strong performance of variety stores, which in keeping with its performance throughout the review period, recorded high double-digit growth…

In 2023, general merchandise stores in Romania were represented in totality by variety stores. However, variety stores is an underdeveloped retail channel, which remains unfamiliar to most local consumers. Variety stores have never really developed…

TEDi Betriebs sro, with a majority of standalone outlets, remained the leading player in general merchandise stores in 2022 and was followed by Tchibo Slovensko. The latter focuses on marketing and promotions and runs weekly discounts on a limited…

General merchandise stores in the Czech Republic, which comprises department stores and variety stores, experienced weaker value growth in 2023. Department stores in Czech Republic continue to lose appeal among locals. As it stands, there are…

General merchandise stores in Ukraine is dominated by variety stores, which continued to weather the challenges of trading during a full-scale war better than many other types of retailers in 2023. This was mainly because their offer of wide ranges…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. In 2023, global inflation is expected to ease from its peak in 2022, but remaining significantly above-trend. Geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market are…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. Global inflation is reaching a peak, although geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market remain key risks. The impact varies between countries, with…

The briefing examines how retail and wholesale industry performs globally and in the largest countries in terms of retail and wholesale output. The report also provides data for production, imports, exports, industry’s costs, industry’s profitability…

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered the most severe global recession since World War II. In Q4 2020, the end of the pandemic started as countries began administering effective vaccines among the population; however, vaccine distribution…

In 2022, though there was double-digit growth in current value sales, growth in constant value sales

In light of inflationary pressures, consumers have become increasingly discerning and cost-conscious in 2022. Grocery retailers have navigated this more complex climate by implementing various measures to address changing preferences, such as…

While grocery retailers in Estonia showed a markedly improved performance in terms of overall current value sales growth in 2022, this was mainly due to soaring inflation fuelled by the global recovery from the pandemic and the fallout of Russia’s…

The war in Ukraine has impacted grocery retailing in Georgia with inflation contributing to price increases across the category. Georgia’s growing consumer base in 2022 has added further impetus to retail value growth. Georgia has been a popular…

Grocery retailers saw strong current value growth in 2022. As the situation stabilised with the reduced threat of Coronavirus (COVID-19), smaller formats like food/drink/tobacco specialists, small local grocers and convenience stores also started to…

The war in Ukraine has had a profound impact on grocery retailers in Lithuania during 2022. As a result of the conflict, grocery prices have increased significantly, and the consumer base has grown due to refugees from Ukraine. This has led to an…

In 2022, though there was healthy growth in current value sales, constant value sales fell. The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to soaring inflation and dampening volume sales. In addition, there was…

New store openings within the modern grocery retailers channel helped fuel growth in current value terms in 2022, albeit the number small local grocers and food/drink/tobacco specialists declined. For example, Delhaize Serbia, the second largest…

Forecourt retailers is maintaining solid growth, after recovering from its declines during the era of pandemic restrictions. Within this environment, in March 2023, it was revealed that MOL Group has sold 39 service stations to Shell in Slovenia, as…

Despite continuing high inflation, performance for health and beauty specialists in Bulgaria was stable, with constant value sales rising slightly. There was also further opening of outlets. Value sales through pharmacies continued to account for…

Health and beauty specialists is a channel which has been affected by cross-category trends in Hungary in 2023. Specifically, the impact of high inflation has led to a growing presence of private label options, thus, to meet the needs of…

In 2023, health and beauty specialists recorded strong growth in value sales. This channel has thus far been relatively resistant to the rising cost crisis in the country. This is influenced by its wide range of products and rapid response to the…

Within health and beauty specialist retailers in Romania in 2023, chemists/pharmacies held the most significant retail value sales by far. These outlets have the largest number of stores, with a strong sales position that continued to be in place…

Health and beauty specialists were the best performing retail channel in Slovakia in 2023 in terms of value growth. There was also a significant increase in outlet openings. However, it was a mixed bag. While pharmacies registered a healthy increase…

In 2023, health and beauty specialists in the Czech Republic experienced a decline in retail volume sales as price hikes dampened consumption. The largest contributor to category growth were beauty specialists, which continued to see a recovery from…

An impressive recovery by health and beauty specialists in Ukraine in current value sales terms in 2023 was underpinned by robust demand in the dominant channel of pharmacies. The latter continued to show greater resilience to the economic shock of…

Home products specialists in Bulgaria registered current value growth in 2023, though constant value sales fell. Inflation was still an issue and impacted profitability. That being said, it was homewares and home furnishing stores that dragged down…

Home products specialists faced inflationary challenges in Hungary in 2023, with the double-digit inflation hikes continuing (and even increasing from) the previous year. Moreso, Hungary is reported to be experiencing one of the highest sets of hikes…

Despite substantial price increases amidst soaring inflation, overall current value sales growth for home products specialists in 2023 was slightly weaker than in 2022. Trade in the two largest channels of home improvement and gardening stores and…

In 2023, home product specialists in Romania showcased positive growth driven by home improvement and gardening stores. Consumers in Romania have showcased a rising interest in DIY and gardening, which began during home seclusion and the outbreak of…

Home product specialists were the worst performing retail channel in Slovakia in 2023. With inflation still high, consumers put off home renovation projects and also cut down on spend on homewares and home furnishings. As such, home products register…

After a spike in current value growth in 2022, home products specialists in the Czech Republic saw a noticeable drop in demand for homewares and furniture in 2023. Demand weakened organically following the significant increases seen in 2022, when the…

Home improvement and gardening stores was by far the most dynamic channel within home products specialists in Ukraine in current value growth terms in 2023. This performance reflected an increased need for construction equipment and materials as…

After discounters, hypermarkets were the best performing grocery channel in Bulgaria in 2023 in terms of value growth. With inflation still high, hypermarkets registered a small increase in constant value sales. Recent opening of new outlets also…

Hypermarkets saw shrinking value sales in Hungary in 2023, compared to the double-digit growth rates seen the previous year. This is attributed to competition from other channels, such as discounters (eg Lidl and Aldi) which offer an increasingly…

Hypermarkets recoded low growth in value sales in 2023 and was by far the weakest performer among modern grocery retailers. The channel struggles with consumers’ disinclination to buy groceries in large shopping centres on the outskirts of cities.…

In 2023, hypermarkets in Romania continued to see retail value growth; however, footfall declined. The social function of hypermarkets before COVID-19 was a place for shopping and entertainment. This has diminished significantly since 2021, with the…

Hypermarkets were the best performing grocery channel in Slovakia in 2023 in terms of value growth. Recent openings of new outlets boosted value sales, including the new Kaufland Bratislava outlet discussed below. However, with inflation still high,…

High inflation and the deteriorating economic situation in the Czech Republic led to weaker volume sales for hypermarkets in 2023. Shoppers were keen to reduce costs and cut back on the number of products they buy, leading to a decrease in volume…

Hypermarkets in Ukraine lagged behind the other main modern grocery retailers channels in terms of current value sales growth in 2023. These types of outlets have lost ground to smaller formats since the start of the Russian invasion, in part because…

In 2022, though there was double-digit growth in current value sales, growth in constant value sales

Croatia has largely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the boost in summer tourism supporting sales growth in non-grocery retailing. Tourism is an important part of the local economy, but the pandemic restrictions had stifled visitor numbers…

Despite steep price hikes resulting from the dramatic and prolonged spike in inflation, overall current value sales growth for non-grocery retailers in Estonia in 2022 was only slightly stronger than that recorded in 2021. Demand in all channels was…

Georgians shifted back to in-store shopping behaviours following the removal of pandemic restrictions. Many consumers chose to prioritise retail shopping in shopping malls and high streets as lifestyles shifted back to normality. Non-grocery…

Consumers continued to move back offline in terms of non-grocery retailers. As the threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related retail and consumer movement restrictions eased, consumers were more willing and able to return to visiting…

Lithuania implemented strict lockdown measures until the spring of 2022, which meant that only essential stores were open for consumers. However, as summer arrived, there was a noticeable increase in traffic to offline stores, indicating a growing…

In 2022, though there was healthy growth in current value sales, constant value sales fell. The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to soaring inflation and dampening volume sales. With such economic…

As COVID-19 fears subsided and restrictions were eased some non-grocery retailers saw a boost to sales, but especially those channels related to activities outside the home. For example, with consumers starting to travel home and abroad again there…

Non-grocery retail is seeing robust double-digit growth in 2022, stimulated by the return to out-of-home lifestyles following the era of the pandemic restrictions. This is also notably supported by the ongoing economic recovery in Slovenia. Inflation…

E-commerce registered double-digit current value growth in 2022, as well as healthy constant value growth, in spite of high inflation. The high inflation was due to the war in Ukraine, which led to soaring energy prices, which in turn led to higher…

High inflation impacted retail e-commerce in Bulgaria in 2023. As such, though retail e-commerce registered high current value growth, constant value sales fell. Consumers cut back on spending on less essential items and this impacted e-commerce.…