France

Sales of staple foods have been negatively impacted by the elevated inflation that hit France in late 2022 and early 2023. As a result, the vast majority of prices went up across staple foods with volume sales either showing minimal growth or even…

Hosiery is another category in negative volume growth, while value is better supported by inflationary factors. Both sheer hosiery and non-sheer hosiery are showing such slumps, with sheer hosiery performing slightly better by a tiny margin. That…

Some trends given impetus during the pandemic remain relevant in France. As health and wellness trends continue to rise among the French population, sports, active lifestyles and the importance of daily movement continue to gain traction. The…

Lodging fared better in 2022 than had been expected and continues to perform well in 2023. 2020 and 2021 were a disaster for the hotel industry, with occupancy rates of 38% and 48% respectively, according to INSEE – French official statistics. The…

Whilst still seeing sales declines, imaging devices is faring better in 2023 than seen in 2022. However, we should consider that imaging devices has been in a decline for a decline, due to the growing use of smartphones for taking photographs and…

Sugar confectionery saw further progress in 2023, with retail volume sales exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Growth was boosted by the revival of children’s birthday parties and other social occasions, which led consumers to embrace sweets as an…

RTDs posted slight growth in total volume terms in 2022, in continuation to an already good performance in 2021. 2022 benefitted from a more festive ambient than seen in 2020 to early 2021 due to the pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, along with…

Despite administrative complexities, sales of spectacles in France are set to maintain steady growth in both volume and current value terms throughout 2023, although this is likely to vary across different regions and types of opticians –…

The pet care industry in France has been hit hard by price rises, which started in 2022 and have continued into 2023. Manufacturers and retailers have faced mounting pressure to raise prices due to increasing costs, including raw materials,…

Depilatories saw small positive volume growth in 2022, in addition to stronger value growth driven by inflation. These sales are attributed to the post-pandemic catch-up effect, in addition to a hot summer in France in 2022 compared to the gloomier…

Throughout 2020 and most of 2021, consumers in France were confined to their homes for extended periods of time due to the pandemic. Gardening emerged as a popular activity during this period, providing a source of pleasure and a way for consumers to…

Against all expectations, and despite a huge drop during the first half of 2020, not only was direct selling one of the most resilient non-grocery channels during 2020, but it was also able to rebound in 2021 and 2022, returning to the pre-pandemic…

Sanitary protection in France is a reasonably consistent category, given the light population increase every year. The demand and purchasing rate for these goods is stable given the regularity of use by the menstruating population. The main downtrend…

Air care remains a niche category which was boosted by the onset of the pandemic, during which people remained at home and sought to make their living spaces cosier. Despite an expected sales slump following this boost, the new hybrid working models…

Consumer credit is facing a number of challenges in France, to the extent the French Association of Financial Companies is reported to have called credit in 2023 a “serious cold snap”. As such, credit difficulties also affect the performance of…

Womenswear is in a volume slump following an uptick in sales immediately following the pandemic. The uptick was reactionary following the abnormal era of store closures and is not persisting due to budgetary pressures and inflation. Whilst e-commerce…

Apparel accessories has slumped in volume in 2023, to just under 1% growth. This is in contrast to the more promising performance seen over the past two years, as the category rebounded from the double-digit volume decline seen during the pandemic.…

Personal luxury sales increased by 8% in current value terms to reach EUR20.9 billion in 2023, supported by the strong growth being recorded by leading players such as LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, Louis Vuitton Malletier SA and Chanel SA.…

Retail sales of luxury goods in France increased by 8% in current value terms to reach EUR37.6 billion in 2023. This represented the third consecutive year of positive growth following the decline seen in 2020, when the pandemic hit the country.…

Retail value sales of digestive remedies are recording subdued but positive growth in 2023, driven by heightened health awareness among the local population, including a greater focus on digestive health. French consumers are becoming increasingly…