Colombia

Income and expenditure growth in Colombia will be driven by sound macroeconomic policies and far-reaching structural reforms. Despite a growing middle class and improving poverty rates, Colombia’s income gap is set to remain large by global standards...

Despite the increasing need for home entertainment during the long periods of quarantine during the COVID-19 epidemic, the economic impacts of the outbreak are forcing many consumers to focus their limited budgets on more essential items such as food...

The extended periods of quarantine introduced by the Colombian government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, together with the restrictions on travel, are severely limiting the opportunities for outdoor photography and filming in 2020. The social ...

The Annual Report of Vehicle Registrations showed that for the first four months of 2020, vehicle registrations reached 51,481 units, some 31% lower than the same period in 2019. In April 2020, 217 vehicles were registered across the country, ...

As in most parts of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, most Colombians have been forced to study and work from home during the long periods of quarantine during the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020. This is presenting a major boost to laptops during ...

Colombia enjoyed GDP growth of 3.3% in 2019, the highest figure recorded over the review period. The projections for the economy going forward were quite positive, with the country expecting a good year in 2020, with further economic growth. These ...

Smartphones are rapidly being regarded as essential products throughout the world, offering a vast array of information and entertainment apps which make businesses and consumers more efficient and offer portable entertainment which can be integrated...

All products within home audio and cinema were already suffering declining unit sales in 2018/2019 and the COVID-19 epidemic is only accelerating this. Many Colombians are following global trends and replacing these products with more modern and ...

Although consumers are staying at home more and consuming more content, the economic uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic is leaving many reluctant to buy big-ticket items such as new televisions or home audio and cinema as they would rather save...

Wearable electronics remained at the early adoption stage in Colombia in 2019, being perceived as premium devices. Moreover, in response to ongoing consumer price sensitivity, low-priced brands such as Diggro, Kingwear, Tigers, Mymobile and MyWigo ...

Latin America’s economy will fall sharply in 2020 due to the containment measures of dealing with the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The region’s consumer expenditure will also fall in 2020. Caribbean economies will lag behind other countries due to their ...

As a result of COVID-19, the on-trade channel will be negatively affected by quarantines and legal restrictions on opening, with consumers shifting to the off-trade channel as a result. On-trade sales of popular categories in wine, such as Champagne ...

The spirits category was stagnant in 2019, impacted by the strong decline of aguardiente. This represented the largest category, but was affected by changes in consumer preferences, with a switch towards standard/economy whisky. The latter has ...

Prior to COVID-19, there was a price war between Bavaria SA and Bogotá Beer Co SA (BBC). There was also evidence of changes in consumption habits, with migration from wine and aguardiente towards beer, along with increasing consumer interest in ...

In 2019 the performance of wine continued to be influenced by the tax hike that occurred in 2017. The increase led to a reduction in the offer, mainly in premium segments. This caused consumers to switch to cheaper brands when making off-trade ...

In 2019 cider/perry continued to see negative growth in volume sales. New consumers simply were not interested in the category in significant numbers. This was due not only to lack of education regarding cider in the country, but also strong price ...

While smokeless tobacco prices are too prohibitive to be successfully introduced beyond a very small niche segment, and there is a lack of culture for the products themselves in Colombia, it is left for e-vapour products and heated tobacco to ...

Cost-cutting has naturally been on consumers’ minds amid widespread job losses in Colombia as a result of the pandemic. However, reducing purchases of tobacco has been avoided by many smokers given the habitual and addictive elements of smoking, with...

Philip Morris International Inc closed its manufacturing facilities in Colombia in 2019. With this move it is expected to continue with its international decentralisation strategy and brand unification. The closure of the last major tobacco ...

In 2019, prices for imported cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco increased due to weaker local currency. Local manufacturers were also affected as most of the tobacco leaves used in smoking tobacco production are imported. The quality of the ...