Dominican Republic

While Latin America’s digital landscape is less well developed than other regions globally, most measures continue to improve, with Coronavirus (COVID-19) also having served to drive the digital landscape development in 2020. With locked-down…

Population expansion in the Dominican Republic will be driven by natural increase in 2021-2040. Ageing will be swift, impacting consumer trends and putting increased pressure on state resources to some extent. Fast urbanisation will result in over…

Ageing, urbanisation and migration continue to be major factors shaping the global population. The number of seniors around the world kept expanding in 2021 and is expected to grow further in the years to 2040. The number of small children is…

The report examines economic landscape of Dominican Republic and provides information on major monetary indicators, foreign trade, investments and government finance. The economy in Dominican Republic expanded in real terms in 2022, driven by…

Beauty and personal care remain the main category in direct selling with brands like Belcorp and Natura posting positive growth in 2022. The use of personalized recommendations and innovative products at affordable prices is supporting development.…

Reduced price initiatives continue to gain momentum in the Dominican Republic as inflation squeezes consumer expenditure. Price sensitivity has been an issue since the pandemic with Dominicans looking for more affordable options. The number of…

Non-grocery retailers posted a strong rise in current value growth in 2022 supported by a rebound in demand as consumer lifestyles shifted back to greater normality post-pandemic. Inflationary pressures have undoubtedly pushed up retail prices, but…

While higher retail prices and lower spending power led to more conscious consumption in 2022, special promotional days provided a welcome boost to value sales throughout the year. Black Friday hosted between the 24 and 27th of November was such an…

Consumers were impacted by high inflation and rising prices in 2022 and increasingly opted to reduce their spending or seek out promotional deals to budget effectively. Dominicans sought out retailers and channels that offered the greatest return on…

This report assesses the business environment in Dominican Republic, focusing on the regulatory environment, stability of the financial system, FDI intake, labour market flexibility and skillset, trade openness, mobility infrastructure, ICT adoption…

Retail volume sales of cigarettes continued to decline in the Dominican Republic during 2022 as the long-term trend away from cigarettes and towards alternative tobacco products continued to develop. In addition, smoking prevalence is still falling…

La Aurora SA maintained its very strong position in cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in 2022 as the company’s wide portfolio of cigars ensured another consecutive year of category leadership for the local player. La Aurora continues to benefit…

The burgeoning heated tobacco category continued to register rising demand during 2022 as smokers who had previously preferred more traditional cigarettes continued to migrate towards this next generation alternative to cigarettes. At the time of…

Positive value growth was recorded across tobacco in the Dominican Republic in 2022 despite volume sales of cigarettes falling over the course of the year. Demand for cigars increased significantly due to the full reopening of the local hospitality…

The picture was bleak for alcoholic drinks in Dominican Republic in 2022. The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to high inflation and dampening volume sales somewhat. That being said, the appreciation of…

It was a negative year for beer in the Dominican Republic in 2022, with a significant decline in volume sales. The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to high inflation and dampening volume sales and also…

Despite higher unit prices and worrisome inflationary pressures, chocolate confectionery enjoyed modest retail volume growth in 2023. Many Dominicans are confronted with lower purchasing power as the cost of living remains above average.…

Cider/Perry continued to be niche product in terms of value and volume sales. However, it registered high double-digit volume growth in 2022. Cider/perry benefitted from the removal of pandemic restrictions and increased socialising through on-trade…

Gum consumption remains steady in 2023 in the aftermath of the pandemic. Gum has historically been a product with high on-the-go and low at-home consumption in the Dominican Republic and was heavily impacted in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19…

In 2023, Dominican consumers are shifting back to consuming ice cream and frozen desserts in foodservice channels. At-home consumption of ice cream soared during the pandemic as restrictions prevented socialising in ice cream parlours. Following the…