Portugal

Home confinement and remote working as a result of the pandemic in Portugal changed consumers’ behaviour in 2020. This was reflected in the performance of the dominant department store chain El Corte Inglés (in value sales terms). The retailer…

At the start of 2021 the Portuguese government implemented another lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 as the country experienced another wave of infections. However, consumers returned to out of home activities shortly thereafter and the uptake…

Wipes remained a dynamic market in Portugal in both personal and home care wipes in 2021, with growth in the latter category remaining particularly strong. The need for strict hygiene and increased cleaning to help stop the spread of COVID-19…

Following a period of successive drops in sales, homeshopping saw sales increase for the first time in years in 2020. The restrictions as a result of the pandemic and the consequent increase in the number of consumers spending time at home boosted…

Boosted by pandemic restrictions whereby proximity stores gained prominence in line with greater demand for at-home consumption, and a greater focus among the Portuguese to support local neighbourhoods or bairros, convenience stores recorded…

Free from packaged food maintained strong growth in 2021. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of economic uncertainty, consumers with food intolerances continued to require free from food. Diets focused on plant-based products in…

Consumer foodservice saw a massive decline in value sales in 2020. COVID-19 led to a lockdown and social distancing measures, forcing consumers to remain at home and limiting the activity of consumer foodservice establishments. Meanwhile, tourism…

Face masks were booming in 2020. However, 2021 saw only “substitution” purchases, while Portuguese consumers increasingly used disposable face masks, which were more available than during the first stage of the pandemic and much cheaper. Moreover,…

Driven mainly by small independent fixed price stores, usually referred to as “Loja dos 300” or Chinese-owned independent variety stores, variety stores witnessed a notable value sales decline in 2020. The Chinese-owned stores had already started to…

The notable slowdown in at-home consumption witnessed in 2021 once restrictions relaxed, and the gradual return to foodservice due to pent-up demand in Portugal, resulted in a marginal decline in value sales for hypermarkets. The channel had…

Polishes continued to be the worst performer among home care products, registering both volume and current value decline in 2021, but the decline slowed when compared to 2020. This was mostly due to many consumers gradually returning to some sort of…

Laundry care continued to see retail value sales growth in 2021 thanks to consumers enjoying more out of home activities and heightened hygiene concerns. Concentrated liquid detergents remained the largest laundry care category but is highly…

Home insecticides is mainly a seasonal, functional product and was therefore not directly related to the hygiene concerns consumers had regarding COVID-19 in 2020. The main driver of value sales each year is the size of the insect population.…

Dishwashing was one of the top performers in home care in 2020, but sales growth slowed both in retail value and volume terms during 2021. Many consumers returned to work or started working from home and at the office, using a hybrid model. This…

Sportswear was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, registering a significant decline in volume and value sales. In reaction, it registered positive growth in 2021. Nevertheless, over those two years, the category was less impacted…

The warehouse club retailing concept was not present in Portugal at the end of the review period. The last version of a warehouse club available in the country was linked to small and independent grocery retailing associations, whereby consumers had…

Demand for tea through foodservice is set to increase in 2021 following a steep decline the previous year due to a notable switch towards home consumption in response to the pandemic. Nevertheless, the lockdown implemented at the start of 2021…

As in light incontinence, the return to normality and busy lifestyles with consumers going out more and returning to offices and outdoor activities, resulted in category recovery in 2021. The more frequent replacement of both tampons and towels,…

More out of the home activities in 2021, with the return to work, eating out and other activities, resulted in a less dynamic performance of retail tissue in 2021 versus 2020. On the other hand, the continuous growth of more compact options in…

As with most apparel categories, hosiery felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless, hosiery suffered less than many other categories. Generally requiring less refined consumer decision-making, hosiery…