Africa

The lifting of COVID-19 restrictions boosted the economy and helped resolve some supply chain issues. However, high inflation put pressure on incomes thus limiting stronger growth in some retail channels, with consumers focusing on their primary…

Retailing saw a surge in current value sales as inflation rates soared in 2022. With retailers still struggling to recover post-pandemic, consumer purchasing power was hit by rising retail prices. Consumers made cutbacks and focused on essential…

Soaring inflation, due to the continuing civil war, as well as price pressures arising from the war in Ukraine, led to consumers cutting down on discretionary spending. On top of inflation, drought further aggravated supply chain disruptions. Within…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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.…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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,…