Market research on consumer products, commercial industries, demo...
Market research on consumer products, commercial industries, demographics trends and consumer lifestyles in the United Kingdom. Includes comprehensive data and analysis, tables and charts, with five-year forecasts.
In the UK, the 1,000ml pack remains the most popular size in the packaging of plant-based milk, and therefore also plant-based dairy as a whole, given milk’s dominance of the overall category. Consumers in the UK are now familiar with plant-based…
Demand for polishes in the UK continued to decline in 2023, in line with the category’s general pre-pandemic trend. The ongoing decline continues to be exacerbated by greater mobility outside of the home, as consumers spend more time in the office or…
In 2023, overall demand for portable players in the UK remains flat, despite significant declines for e-readers and portable media players. The falling demand for e-readers is being driven by local consumers switching to physical books, with the…
Pre-paid cards is set to see a solid performance in 2023, while other card payment methods, such as charge cards and store cards, are set to decrease significantly, and others are set to see slower growth, such as debit cards. One of the factors…
Value sales of premium and luxury cars rose by 4% to total GBP25.7 billion in 2023, due to demand from high-income consumers, who proved to be steadfast despite macroeconomic headwinds. Demand for premium and luxury cars is contingent on wealth, and…
As already evident the previous year, even in times of restricted disposable incomes, consumers continued to purchase premium products in the UK over 2023. However, they remained discerning in terms of the specific products they used and the brands…
In 2022, retail volume sales of processed fruit and vegetables were challenged by inflationary pressures. The category, which recorded strong growth in 2020 when COVID-19 lockdown restrictions turned consumers towards convenient food solutions, has…
Metal food cans account for the greatest pack type share in processed fruit and vegetables packaging in the UK. Metal food cans are used to package the largest category in unit volume terms, shelf stable fruit and vegetables, due to their excellent…
In July 2023, Sainsbury's, one of the UK's largest supermarket chains and also one of the leading players in processed meat and fish, launched a sustainability programme to reduce plastic waste for its chilled processed meat. It replaced plastic…
Processed meat, seafood and alternatives to meat recorded severe losses in retail volume sales in 2022, and decline is set to continue in 2023, although at a slower rate, with demand being heavily affected by the cost-of-living crisis. As consumers…
In 2023, retail demand for pulses in the UK continues to grow. As meat, fish and other animal proteins are increasing in price due to inflation and the rising cost of living, local consumers are looking for cheaper sources of protein, and one of…
While dinner mixes was already the most dynamic category in ready meals packaging prior to the pandemic, it received a major spike in its demand in 2020, as the COVID-19 restrictions boosted demand for these products. With consumers in home seclusion…
Refrigeration appliances is set to see a significant overall volume decline in 2023. This comes as a result of the poor performance of freezers, fridge-freezers, and fridges. Reasons for the continued volume decline in refrigeration appliances…
Retail adult incontinence in the UK continued to record a dynamic performance in 2023. Overall demand for these products was based on several different factors, such as an ageing consumer base, increasing awareness, and greater availability in terms…
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…
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…
Inflationary pressures in 2023 marginally eased when compared to the previous year, but continued to exert strong influence on demand for retail tissue in the UK. Sales mostly rebounded in the second half of 2023, although not sufficiently to avoid…
In 2022, rice, pasta and noodles was one of the categories that faced strong price increases due to the supply chain crisis, with wheat and rice shortages putting particular pressure on production costs. Further high single-digit price increases are…
In 2023, RTD coffee is set to experience strong double-digit growth in off-trade current value and volume terms. For several years now, RTD coffee has benefited from growing popularity and a surge in demand. This is due to several factors, including…
Following strong positive performances in 2021 and 2022, ready to drink (RTD) tea is set to continue to experience double-digit growth in current value sales both off-trade and on-trade in 2023. Due to a longer and warmer summer in 2022, RTD tea…
In stark contrast to many other alcoholic drinks categories, RTDs in the UK recorded a positive performance in 2023. Growth was seen in both off-trade and on-trade channels, with the latter experiencing a more dynamic performance than the dominant…
Rx/reimbursement adult incontinence in the UK continued to record volume declines in 2023. The category has been in decline for many years in the local market, with consumers shifting towards retail adult incontinence as the availability and…
Trends that emerged in 2022, such as rising unit prices, have continued to impact sauces, dips and condiments in 2023. The escalating input costs faced by companies, coupled with the soaring prices of key ingredients, have led to substantial…
Ketchup is a staple fixture in British households and, despite the advantages offered by glass bottles, such as premium look and feel, product safety, impermeability and eco-friendliness, other packaging solutions, and particularly PET bottles, have…
Overall sauces, dressings and condiments packaging recorded a surge in its unit volume growth in 2020. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers across the country shifted to working and studying remotely, with extensive lockdown periods…
The global supply chain crisis has heavily affected savoury snacks in the UK, as the category has experienced consecutive years of strong price increases. Adding to the inflationary environment in 2022, savoury snacks recorded even stronger…
Self-service cafeterias continued to record a positive performance in terms of value sales and transactions in 2023, despite the closure of some chained outlets, such as House of Fraser and Asda. Self-service cafeterias continued to experience a…
Skin care in the UK experienced solid growth in both value and volume terms in 2023, as unit price rises were accompanied by a growing consumer appetite for skin care products. This was a shift away from 2022 when the category experienced a marginal…
Current value sales of sleep aids continue to rise in 2023, albeit at a slower rate due to stocking up and strong sales over the last three years since the emergence of the pandemic. Local consumers continue to experience the cost-of-living crisis in…
A small decline is expected in overall small cooking appliances in volume terms in 2023. This category experienced a sharp spike in growth in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, as home seclusion led many consumers to develop a passion for cooking,…
Unlike larger store formats within grocery retailers, such as warehouse clubs, discounters, and hypermarkets, which have a strong focus on lower-priced products as well as the ability to limit the transfer of increased costs on to consumers, small…
E-vapour products, heated tobacco products and tobacco free oral nicotine in the UK all recorded impressive, double-digit growth rates in 2023. The number of cigarette users who are quitting smoking or are now dual users (utilising e-vapour or heated…
The global supply chain crisis has heavily impacted snacks in the UK. Since 2022, the local industry has experienced strong price increases, driven by the shortages of raw materials such as cooking oils, wheat, cocoa, sugar, and milk, adding to the…
Despite inflation, total volume sales of soft drinks have remained resilient in the United Kingdom. 2022 and 2023 have been challenged by increasing prices, which have had a significant impact on the cost of living. Consumers have lost purchasing…
PET bottles are the leading pack type in the UK soft drinks packaging market due to their durability and affordability, with PET bottles also expected to continue being the most widely used packaging format over the forecast period. PET bottles are…
Spectacles in the UK continued to witness positive growth in 2023 offset by the ramifications of the pandemic. At the same time, value growth was driven by average unit price increases in line with inflated energy prices. While both value and volume…
Spirits in the UK experienced another weak performance in 2023, recording both on-trade and off-trade volume declines. Sales via the on-trade channel were negatively impacted by high cost of living and the desire among local consumers to save money,…
After experiencing significant off-trade and on-trade volume and current value growth in 2021 and 2022, sports drinks is set to continue to experience dynamic growth in 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the health and wellness trend, which…
After a marginal decline in the first year of the pandemic, sports nutrition in the UK continues to record strong current value sales growth in 2023, following a full recovery in 2021. Apart from the price hikes driven by inflation since the end of…
Sportswear in the UK is maintaining its trajectory of robust growth, attesting to the enduring appeal of athletic-inspired fashion and the evolution of consumer preferences. 2023 has witnessed a continuation of key trends that have been shaping…
Rising production costs due to the energy crisis, labour shortages, and the increasing price of raw materials across the entire supply chain led to strong rises in the prices of staple foods in 2022. High single-digit price increases are also…
Extreme weather conditions in 2022 and 2023 have had an impact on the production of starchy roots in the UK and around the world. Droughts and hot weather occurred in 2022, while a wet spring and summer delayed the campaign for starchy roots in 2023.…
Even though consumers have relied more on credit to afford higher retail prices in 2023, due to the economic situation in the country, store cards have continued to decrease in popularity, with declines expected in terms of cards in circulation, and…
The popularity of street stalls/kiosks has emerged from a shift in consumer preferences towards variety, innovation, authenticity, and casual dining. Overall, 2023 was a positive year for street stalls/kiosks with double- digit current value growth.…
Following two consecutive years of double-digit declines, retail volume sales of sugar and sweeteners continue to fall in 2023. Droughts caused the cultivation campaign to be delayed in 2022, which negatively impacted sugar beet production.…
2023 was a negative year for sugar confectionery in the UK. Heightened costs across the supply chain, including transportation, energy, labour and raw materials such as sugar, resulted in double-digit price increases for the category. Inflationary…
Sun care in the UK continued to record a solid performance in 2023, with volume sales fully recovering to surpass 2019 figures. While sun care recorded an increase of 7% in volume terms and 12% in value terms, it is noteworthy that most of this…
After a strong performance in 2023, when sunglasses in the UK recorded high single-digit volume growth and double-digit value growth, 2024 is expected to be more of a cautious year for the category as a whole. The dynamic growth witnessed in 2023 was…
Supermarkets in the UK was the only grocery retail channel in 2022 to witness value sales decline, in a year characterised by soaring food prices, skyrocketing cost of utilities, high inflation, and a cost-of-living crisis, which all contributed to a…
The pandemic increased consumers’ hygiene awareness, leading to a surge in sales of surface care in 2020, when COVID-19 first emerged. Demand for surface care has continued to be strong since, with 2023 seeing higher sales than pre-pandemic levels,…