Retailing

Small local grocers was also characterised by a reluctance to spend among consumers in 2023, as inflation and the cost of living have risen sharply since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in spring 2022. Sales rose sharply again in 2023, although…

Retail registered both an increase in current and constant value sales in 2023. The Turkish economy improved somewhat in 2023, as significant interest rates hikes and significant currency devaluation dampened inflation. However, inflation remained…

In 2023, soaring inflation rates, an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, low consumer confidence and limited spending subdued the retail industry in the UK. Consumers continued to downgrade product purchases to mitigate the negative effects of the…

Retail in the Netherlands saw positive growth in current value terms in 2023 but this was largely reflective of the impact of inflation and price rises rather than an increase in consumption. Many channels actually reported declining volume sales in…

Retail sales in Switzerland in 2023 saw minimal current value growth, which was solely driven by price increases. Paradoxically, this was also one of the main limiting factors on demand. Substantial increases in the cost of living made local…

Retail in Sweden continued to be affected by the challenging Swedish macroeconomic environment in 2023, characterised by negative real GDP growth and high inflation rates. The high inflationary pressure on prices especially affected groceries, but…

Retail in Spain continued to be impacted by high inflation in 2023, with high energy and fuel prices putting pressure on operators and leading to rising prices for the consumer. The Spanish government tried to mitigate the increase in prices by…

Retail in Portugal in 2023 continued to record positive retail value growth despite consumers' loss of purchasing power. High inflation rates, combined with the return of tourism, bolstered retail value growth, which was particularly high for…

Inflationary pressures have led to stronger price competition in Norway’s retail landscape. Food price increases have been a notable issue for grocery retailers resulting in intense competition between supermarkets and discounters. Players have come…

High inflation rates continued to negatively affect producers, distributors, and most importantly consumers in 2023, despite inflation being slightly more stable than in the previous year. Indeed, as issues in the supply chain, logistical space, and…

Retail in Ireland continued to be impacted by inflationary pressures and high utility costs through 2023, affecting consumers and retailers alike. That said, we did witness some easing of pressures later in the year, both in product pricing and…

Retail faced notable challenges in Greece in 2023. Inflation was - and continues to be - very high and prices were constantly rising. Retailers, regardless of industry, were forced to raise their prices as they could not absorb the increases in the…

In 2023, retail in Germany displayed resilience amid challenging economic conditions, with varying performances across different channels. While inflationary pressures continued to influence consumer spending patterns, a gradual stabilisation in the…

The French overall retail market saw modest growth in terms of current value sales in 2023, which, while seemingly robust, was primarily driven by inflation and a return to normalcy following the challenging conditions and lingering effects of the…

Retail in Finland witnessed positive development in current value terms in 2023, although this was largely underpinned by retail price inflation. Grocery retailers saw a decline after a couple of years of solid growth, while non-grocery retailers…

The retail market in Denmark saw stagnation in current value terms in 2023. The Danish economy is doing well compared to many other countries and has seen low unemployment and a declining rate of inflation. However, consumers continue to face…

Retail in Belgium saw only modest growth in current value terms in 2023. This was mainly due to inflationary pressures, in the light of still rising food prices, which placed a strain on household budgets. With consumers remaining pessimistic about…

After a year of slowdown, the retail market experienced significant growth in value terms although this was entirely price-driven as inflation remained at unusually high levels for a second consecutive year. Although disposable income in 2023 slowly…

While retail e-commerce in Turkey registered an increase in both current and constant value sales in 2023, it was not one of the stronger performing retail channels. This was because with appliances and electronics continuing to be the most popular…

After a challenging 2022 due to high inflation, the emergence of the cost-of-living crisis, and additional pressure on operators due to a surge in utility prices, all of which affected the disposable incomes of local consumers and subsequently led to…

Consumers are increasingly shopping online for their groceries with the return to busy lives away from the home leaving less time for grocery shopping. Growth was seen from both pure players and traditional store-based grocery retailers which have…

E-commerce enjoyed a boom during the pandemic as many local consumers spent significant amounts of time at home for work and leisure and reduced spending on events, entertainment and shopping in-store. As a result, growth was more moderate in 2023.…

Retail e-commerce in Sweden, after almost a decade of double-digit retail current value growth, peaking over 2019-2021, witnessed stabilisation or correction towards the end of the review period. Following a small drop in 2022, retail e-commerce…

After seeing dynamic double-digit growth year-on-year throughout the review period retail e-commerce saw a slowdown in 2023 in current value terms, with consumer electronics e-commerce even posting a decline in sales. Elevated inflation, rising…

In 2023, retail e-commerce in Portugal recorded single-digit retail value growth. After a substantial uplift in sales during COVID-19, the landscape recorded a slowdown during 2022. This continued into 2023, with the channel losing share to offline…

Following very strong progress during the pandemic, retail e-commerce continues to grow at a steady pace in Norway, with another solid performance in 2023. This is even true of segments that performed poorly offline, such as homewares and home…

Retail e-commerce in Italy posted a relatively moderate increase in current value terms in 2023, with growth largely driven by foods, beverages and beauty products. After a steep increase in market penetration of fast moving consumer goods sold…

Retail e-commerce continued to stabilise in Ireland in 2023, following the significant boom seen during the era of the pandemic, when both consumers and retailers alike were forced to embrace the online channel. Whilst footfall has returned to…

Retail e-commerce saw more modest current value growth in Greece in 2023, following three consecutive years of double-digit expansion. The fact that the penetration rate of e-commerce in many categories was relatively low by Western European…

In 2023, Germany's e-commerce landscape showed signs of potential recovery, following 2022’s sales slump as the country emerged from the pandemic. A stronger return to stores, ongoing economic volatility, and low consumer confidence stemming from the…

In 2023, retail e-commerce overall recorded positive current value growth in France, following the category’s decline in 2022. The count of active e-commerce sites remained on an upward trajectory, albeit at a moderated rate in 2023.

In 2023, e-commerce in Finland outperformed the overall retail category by a greater margin than in 2022. The move from offline to online continued to impact the sales of offline channels – blurring the boundaries between online and offline through…

E-commerce in Denmark saw a return to growth in current value terms in Denmark in 2023 even as consumers continued to return to in-store shopping and the economic situation resulted in many consumers trying to limit spending. Although the rate of…

Retail e-commerce in Belgium saw a more muted performance in 2023, compared to the previous two years. This was linked to the impact of inflation, with many shoppers preferring to visit physical stores to seek out the best promotions and offers, as…

After a slow year, retail e-commerce saw significant growth in value sales again in 2023, although this was entirely price driven as inflation remained at unusually high levels for a second consecutive year. Although disposable income slowly…

After discounters, hypermarkets were the best performing grocery channel in Turkey in 2023, in terms of value growth. With inflation still high, hypermarkets registered both a double-digit percentage increase in current and constant value sales.…

Despite increased competition from discounters and warehouse clubs, which offer low-cost products appealing to the elevated number of price-sensitive consumers in 2023, hypermarkets in the UK maintained positive sales growth. Amid the cost-of-living…

Hypermarkets was the most dynamic grocery retailers category in current value terms in 2023. Although people are spending less on the extra services that were installed in hypermarkets over review period (eg prepared meals, cobblers etc) they are…

Despite, or rather because of, average price increases, grocery sales and thus sales through grocery retailers, including hypermarkets, declined in Switzerland in 2023. Local consumers remained highly price sensitive and prioritised essential…

Like other types of grocery retailers, hypermarkets in Sweden were impacted directly by historically high inflation, which reached high single-digit rates in 2022 and 2023. As a result, consumers became more price-sensitive and they started to look…

Despite the Spanish government reducing VAT rates and even placing a 0% VAT rate on foods like fruit and vegetables and bread, food prices continued to grow in 2023, with Spain continuing to experience elevated inflation. While some consumer…

Inflation rates drove retail value sales of grocery retailers in Portugal in 2023, with hypermarkets showing positive value growth despite losing competitiveness to smaller concepts such as supermarkets and discounters. Although hypermarkets offer a…

Hypermarket sales have stayed above pre-pandemic levels in 2023, due to a solid performance from the sole player Coop Obs. The retailer employed bulk buying and delivered budget friendly products to compete against other dominant grocery retailers in…

Although more stable than in the previous year, inflation rates still remained high in Italy in 2023 with the price of food and other grocery and non-grocery items continuing to rise. In the context of high inflation, hypermarkets continued to…

Hypermarkets struggled in Ireland in 2023, due to a variety of factors. One such is the fact such stores, being large in size, were strongly affected by the hikes in energy bills and associated utilities. This made it challenging for hypermarket…

The hypermarkets channel saw value sales rise in Greece in 2023. Hypermarkets are evolving into small shopping centres. Their construction with escalators, their huge parking lots and the variety of products on offer are reminiscent of a shopping…

The economic slowdown in 2023 somewhat undermined the performance of hypermarkets in Germany, as the format is highly dependent on non-grocery purchases often considered by consumers as discretionary spending. This adds to the longer-term challenges…

The initial phase of the pandemic saw proximity-focused convenience stores and supermarkets thrive as travel curbs encouraged local shopping. With the return of pre-pandemic routines, hypermarket outlets have seen a surge in footfall, benefitting…

Hypermarkets remains the leading retail (not only grocery retail) channel in Finland, with around a third of overall sales of grocery retailers in 2023. Hypermarkets has managed to maintain its extend its lead over supermarkets (the second biggest…

Hypermarkets continued to face strong competition from discounters in Denmark in 2023 as many consumers looked to save on their grocery shopping due to the financial impact of higher energy prices and increasing interest rates. However, as…