Retailing

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with rising income inequality being among the key ones. Nevertheless, addressing the income inequality through catering to the Bottom of the Pyramid and the Middle Class…

Businesses globally face challenges in consumer markets in the short to medium term, owing to the rising cost of living and increasingly financially cautious consumers. Amidst uncertainty arise opportunities. Income and expenditure insights are…

Consumers are facing increased pressure from rising prices as global inflation reaches 7% in 2023. The impact of higher costs of living is felt from top earners in developed markets to struggling households in emerging and developing countries.…

Cities are hubs for spending, with 80% of expenditure expected to be generated by urban areas in 2023. Spending growth in 2023 will, however, be sluggish, as cost of living challenges force consumers to be more conservative in their expenditure. Over…

Global consumers are struggling with the cost of living crisis, as inflation remains high while household income growth lags. Consumers are adopting recessionary habits, such as trading down and being more selective in their spending. Rather than…

Asia Pacific houses the biggest country market for e-commerce (China) and the nation with the second highest e-commerce per capita consumption in value terms (South Korea). As a region, it therefore houses highly developed e-commerce countries, but…

Sales at grocery retailers were back in decline in Asia Pacific in 2022, with the impact of spiking case numbers in China, as it continued to pursue its zero-COVID policy, dragging down the overall regional performance. This followed a strong…

Despite the deleterious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Uzbekistan recorded positive annual real GDP growth of 1.9% in 2020. With the reopening of the economy, as well as higher state investment and a recovery in remittance inflows that bolstered…

Sri Lanka experienced an economic crisis in 2022 with hyperinflation and severe import restrictions due to a lack of dollars. Many retailers struggled to meet demand with the country experiencing severe shortages, including for key products such as…

In 2022, retail in Pakistan was severely impacted by the devastating floods and the economic crisis. Dwindling consumer purchasing power, supply chain disruptions, reduced agriculture output, weak lending activity by commercial banks and currency…

Retail in Myanmar witnessed double-digit growth in current value terms in 2022 but this was largely driven by high inflation and the depreciation of the local currency exchange rate. Households became more price sensitive amidst declining purchasing…

Inflation remains high, making imported goods more expensive for consumers and restricting purchases of non-essentials, despite a degree of post-COVID-19 recovery. Retailing remains underdeveloped, with informal retailing dominant and benefiting from…

Kazakhstan has strong trade links with Russia in particular and its war in Ukraine negatively impacted the economy and led to high inflation. While skyrocketing international oil and gas prices boosted the local economy, its usual outflow to the…

The reopening of society after the pandemic is beneficial for Cambodia retail. While the majority of consumers still shop in traditional outlets, the retail landscape in developed cities is being modernised. This is driven by a growing number of…

Retail generated positive growth in 2022 despite high inflation and pressure on consumer spending. Higher levels of investment from key players boosted chained grocery retailing and e-commerce as consumers become more accustomed to more modern and…

Following the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that caused oil prices to collapse in 2020 and annual real GDP to contract by 4.2% in 2020, the Azerbaijani economy rebounded strongly and grew by 5.6% in annual real terms in 2021. This is partly…

In 2022, retail e-commerce continued to gain significant value share in Uzbekistan. However, its penetration level still lagged behind neighbouring countries such as Kazakhstan. Several factors hindered the further development of retail e-commerce in…

Clicky, a fast-fashion e-commerce platform focused on apparel, footwear and accessories, has received investments from notable investors such as Fatima Ventures and Souq, a UAE-based company that was later acquired by Amazon. In December 2021, the…

E-commerce continued to grow but at a slower rate, partly due to the geopolitical situation. The war in Ukraine has resulted in supply chain disruptions, higher transportation tariffs and high inflation also higher prices for imports, due to currency…

In 2022 e-commerce penetration in Azerbaijan remained low though the channel continued to enjoy rapid and robust growth, gaining significant value share. Some consumers switched to purchasing groceries via e-commerce during the pandemic. However,…