Retailing

Direct selling retail current value sales exhibited a steep decline during 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on movement, most notably a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the major cities, made it difficult for salespeople to move around,…

Brick and mortar grocery stores remain extremely popular in Kenya, despite ongoing strong growth in e-commerce. The number of grocery stores outlets continued to increase in Kenya in 2022 as operators looked to expand as the country continued its…

Faced with rising costs, some major non-grocery retailers were forced to close their doors towards the end of the review period. Following a general pattern of South African retailers exiting Kenya, Massmart Holdings Ltd announced in early 2023 its…

Sendy launched a payment on delivery product for e-commerce and social commerce vendors in Africa, with this including Kenya. This is seen as a significant new product as it overcomes security concerns some consumers still have about shopping online,…

Consumer shopping habits still favour traditional and informal retail in Angola. Retail was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the economy suffering. However, with a recovering economy expected in the forecast period and the government focus on…

Retail in Kenya continued to expand in 2022, with new stores opening while there was increased footfall at brick and mortar stores. However, not all modern retailers are finding success in Kenya, with some players being forced to exit the market.…

Multi-level level marketing remained the most popular form of direct selling in Cameroon in 2022 as the retailing category recorded a positive performance for the second year in a row. However, this was not enough for category sales to recover to…

France-based multinational Carrefour continued to expand its global footprint during 2022 with the opening of its first hypermarket in Cameroon. This store is located at the PlaYce shopping centre in Yaoundé and it was inaugurated during July 2022.…

The July 2022 opening of the PlaYce shopping centre in Yaoundé represented a watershed moment in the development of non-grocery retailers in Cameroon. In addition to playing host to a large hypermarket under the Carrefour brand, this very modern new…

While positive growth was recorded in retailing in Cameroon during 2022, demand was under pressure due to the impact of the high inflation that was in effect throughout the year. In particular, many lower-income households struggled to make ends meet…

While positive growth was recorded in retailing in Cameroon during 2022, demand was under pressure due to the impact of the high inflation that was in effect throughout the year. In particular, many lower-income households struggled to make ends meet…

Similar to other retail channels, hypermarkets has been experiencing rising costs associated with inflation and high shipping costs. However, retailers have been strategic in passing costs on to consumers, and have continued to offer low prices for…

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…

Retailing value sales continued to expand in Côte d’Ivoire during 2022 growing at a higher rate than they did in both 2020 and 2021 but at a slower rate than in the earlier part of the review period. The market continued to recover from disruption…

Qatar’s affluent population makes the country an attractive prospect for international retailers, especially given the popularity of shopping as a leisure activity and the preference for global brands. However, the country’s low population and the…

Direct selling has evolved in the recent review period, with sellers turning to social media and online marketplaces. This switch to e-commerce was stimulated by the era of COVID-19, when consumers and players alike were forced to embrace online…

Direct selling saw sales boosted during the pandemic, and the impact has persisted post-pandemic, with growth accelerating again in 2022 after a slowdown in 2021 The channel remains far from saturation or maturity. The key factors driving the…

In Guatemala, the direct selling channel continues to rely heavily on in-person interactions as e-commerce penetration remains relatively low. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on direct selling in 2020 due to government…

Direct selling registered constant value growth in 2022, in spite of high inflation, which was mainly caused by the war in Ukraine. With concerns surrounding COVID-19 putting a spotlight on the concept of preventive health, many Kazakhstanis have…

Health and beauty direct selling continued to dominate retail value sales in 2022, especially through beauty and personal care products. Traditionally, direct selling in Latvia is a well-known channel for beauty products. Moreover, health and beauty…

Before the pandemic, direct selling vendors were making efforts to improve their digital presence by providing both social media communication and e-commerce services in order to meet the demands of their customers and remain relevant. This shift to…

Despite growing consumer awareness and the presence of questionable brands and products in the direct selling channel, the channel continues to remain relevant, particularly in rural areas where malls and shopping centres are fewer in number. In…

Direct selling re-emerged during the review period, following many years of absence from Uzbekistan. Following poor performances, most companies had exited this channel prior to the review period in 2012, due to tightening restrictions, including…

The rising cost of food is affecting the performance of grocery retailers, leading to positive value growth whilst also placing pressure on consumers’ finances. Despite government initiatives to delay a planned restructuring of food subvention and…

Modern grocery retailers continued to outperform traditional retailers in terms of growth in Azerbaijan in 2022, gaining value share in a trend that is set to persist. This expansion is supported by ongoing urbanisation and investment in the…

In 2022, retail value sales of grocery retailers recorded substantial growth. Inflationary pressures were a key contributor to this strong value increase, while volume sales growth decelerated compared to the previous year. Overall, increases in the…

Kazakhstan has strong trade links with Russia in particular and its war in Ukraine negatively impacted the economy and led to high inflation. While skyrocketing international oil and gas prices boosted the local economy, its usual outflow to the…

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 2020, the IMF discontinued funding for Pakistan as the country failed to implement policies regarding taxes and price increases on energy, which worsened Pakistan's economic woes in 2022, resulting in unstable economic and political policies.…

Although modern trade formats continue to increase their value share in 2022, bazaars are still the dominant grocery retailing channel due in part to the fact that bazaars have a well-established place in Uzbekistani culture, with consumers being…

In non-grocery retail, imports from Spain have been negatively affected by the temporary trade ban. On 8 June 2022, the Algerian authorities suspended the friendship treaty of all commercial operations between the two countries – apart from gas…

2022 saw the fuller return of consumers to offline shopping in Azerbaijan. Following two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and its related lockdowns and restrictions, local consumers prioritised store-based outlets in 2022, and visited shopping malls…

Pharmacies in Guatemala saw robust year-on-year sales growth in 2022. However, when viewed in constant terms (i.e., adjusted for inflation), the sales growth rate slowed from the previous year. This can be attributed to the circumstances of the…

In spite of high inflation caused by the war in nearby Ukraine and ensuing economic uncertainty, non-grocery retailers registered a slight increase in constant value sales in 2022. The return of foot traffic, post pandemic lockdowns, helped…

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, rising inflation rates and the increasing cost of living had a significant impact on spending in non-grocery retail, in constant terms. The channels that were most affected were home improvement stores, followed by apparel and footwear…

Bazaars remain a favourite shopping channel for non-grocery products. Low-income shoppers, tourists, and anyone looking for a wide variety of items that they can negotiate prices on all frequently turn to bazaars. The abundance of products and the…

Retail e-commerce is the big winner in Algeria in 2022, boosted by the era of the pandemic forcing consumers and players to embrace online platforms, and further supported by the ongoing developments in telecommunications infrastructure in the…

In 2022 e-commerce penetration in Azerbaijan remained low though the channel continued to enjoy rapid and robust growth, gaining significant value share. Some consumers switched to purchasing groceries via e-commerce during the pandemic. However,…

Prior to 2020, e-commerce in Guatemala had been experiencing steady growth over the years, but adoption rates remained relatively low. However, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a surge in e-commerce sales, particularly among more affluent consumers…

E-commerce continued to grow but at a slower rate, partly due to the geopolitical situation. The war in Ukraine has resulted in supply chain disruptions, higher transportation tariffs and high inflation also higher prices for imports, due to currency…

As in other markets, retail in Latvia continued to see the increased adoption of e-commerce at the end of the review period. While visible prior to the onset of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the pandemic accelerated the global shift towards online…

Due to the increasing number of online retailers and brands, a continually expanding network of lockers in the country, a variety of delivery methods, secure and convenient payment systems, and a growing pool of customers, retail e-commerce continued…

Clicky, a fast-fashion e-commerce platform focused on apparel, footwear and accessories, has received investments from notable investors such as Fatima Ventures and Souq, a UAE-based company that was later acquired by Amazon. In December 2021, the…

In 2022, retail e-commerce continued to gain significant value share in Uzbekistan. However, its penetration level still lagged behind neighbouring countries such as Kazakhstan. Several factors hindered the further development of retail e-commerce in…

All categories in retail in Algeria are seeing positive value growth, with retail e-commerce as the big winner. Inflationary pressures are contributing to this value growth, although as prices rise, consumers also become more cautious in their…

Following the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that caused oil prices to collapse in 2020 and annual real GDP to contract by 4.2% in 2020, the Azerbaijani economy rebounded strongly and grew by 5.6% in annual real terms in 2021. This is partly…

Retail generated positive growth in 2022 despite high inflation and pressure on consumer spending. Higher levels of investment from key players boosted chained grocery retailing and e-commerce as consumers become more accustomed to more modern and…