Eastern Europe

Monitors saw volume sales dip slightly in 2023 with business upgrades the main category growth driver. Overall, volume sales of monitors remain well above pre-pandemic levels following the strong growth in 2020 and 2021 as lockdowns encouraged sales…

Decline in volume sales terms was seen across the board in computers and peripherals in 2023. Consumers’ financial difficulties and low confidence due to the weak economic situation it the country and rising cost of living meant they delayed…

Activity watches (analogue) were increasingly popular and recorded the highest volume growth in 2023 as these products are readily available and consumers prefer them to other activity bands without displays and traditional watches as they offer…

Portable players were hard to find in retail channels in 2023 and their sales were negligible as technology advances are leading to portable player devices becoming obsolete. In particular smartphone and tablets are replacing the need for portable…

Significant price rises and a high penetration rate in Hungary resulted in volume decline in smartphones in 2023. Fewer consumers were able to replace their smartphone and chose to postpone their purchases until prices were more stable, or they…

In-car entertainment recorded further decline in 2023, negatively impacted by fewer sales of new cars due to a shortage of key parts and components needed for their manufacture, which also drove up prices in the year. Consumers had to wait a long…

Volume sales of imaging devices again fell by a fifth in 2023 and value sales also registered decline. Continuing advances in smartphones’ cameras are leading to continual decline in imaging devices, to the extent that some smartphones can meet the…

Televisions recorded slight volume growth in 2023, with OLED TVs seeing strong double-digit growth as consumers looked to upgrade their older televisions with screens offering high picture and sound quality, which are light and have more…

Home audio and cinema recorded strong volume decline in 2023 as these products faced competition from wireless sound systems, the increasing sound quality of portable computers and smartphones, and a growing preference for compact and interior…

Whilst premium wireless headbands were popular during COVID-19 as they had more convenient features for both work and gaming, high inflation and rising prices deterred consumers from paying extra for them in 2023, therefore mass products performed…

High inflation affected volume sales of consumer electronics in Hungary in 2023. While strong value growth was recorded, overall volume sales were flat, with a weaker performance in the first half of the year. Strong demand for consumer electronics…

Volume sales of computers were impacted by several negative factors in 2023, including high maturity. Also, the surge in volume sales during the pandemic as people hurriedly tried to set up home offices meant that computers bought during that period…

Wine sales declined in 2022 after couple of good years for sales in Lithuania. The pandemic was an important factor in this renaissance in 2020 and 2021 as consumers were forced to spend more time at home. This led to a trend towards buying wine to…

Wine sales demonstrated good results in 2022 once pandemic-related restrictions had eased and consumers were able to pursue a greater degree of normality in their lives. Consumers returned to on-trade establishments in larger numbers in 2022…

As in 2021, “other” fortified wine posted the fastest total volume growth in 2022. This performance can be explained by the lower prices of these types of products, compared with other options in wine categories. Due to the effects of galloping…

Although smoking prevalence is declining in Lithuania in terms of cigarettes, consumers in Lithuania are very open to new innovations. Therefore, while volume sales of cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco decline in 2022, sales of…

Latvia’s tobacco industry had a good year in 2022 as demand for cigarettes increased, largely as a result of more stringent efforts to curb the clandestine trade in illicit cigarettes smuggled into the country from Russia and Belarus, while closed…

Sales of spirits declined in off-trade and on-trade volume terms in 2022. The category experienced a strong rebound in demand in 2021 boosted by the easing of restrictions and consumers returning to on-trade outlets. However, with life in Lithuania…

2022 was a good year for the spirits category in Latvia following the relaxation of pandemic restrictions, with horeca establishments able to work at full capacity from March 2022. As a result, spirits sales grew significantly in the on- and…

In terms of single categories, tequila (and mezcal) registered the fastest total volume growth in 2022. This performance can be explained by several factors: increased awareness of tequila (and mezcal); greater availability on retail shelves; and…