Retailing

The performance of general merchandise stores in Ireland in 2023 was being supported by the positive trajectory of department stores. There was a strong rebound in department stores in 2022, following the disruptions seen during the era of the…

General merchandise stores saw continued current value growth in Greece in 2023. Many brands continue to invest heavily in traditional advertising, such as through television, since it still manages to target consumers aged above 40 years old who…

Value sales of general merchandise stores in Germany rebounded in 2023, following the previous year’s decline. The latter was driven by department stores, with the channel’s sales falling by double digits due to temporary store closures. Although the…

Department stores in France has witnessed a significant post-pandemic turnaround over 2021-23, recovering from a particularly challenging 2020, which marked one of the retail market's lowest performances. The strong rebound was driven by an increase…

Variety stores in Finland witnessed a stellar performance in 2023, with current value growth reaching double-digits. Providing a wide offering of cheap products, variety stores have proved attractive to consumers in the economic downturn, as these…

Having seen solid growth in the previous year as the channel seemed to be recovering from the severe impact of the COVID-19 crisis, general merchandise stores saw sales decline again in Denmark in 2023. This came before the channel had returned to…

General merchandise stores in Belgium registered a slight decline in sales in current value terms in 2023, despite ongoing price rises. This was primarily due to the negative performance of department stores, which suffered from competition from…

General merchandise stores continued to significantly outperform retailing overall in terms of value sales growth due in the main to the continuing expansion and success of variety stores. It was one of the areas least affected by the generally sharp…

Food and drink e-commerce registered an exponential rise in value sales during the height of the pandemic in 2020. In 2021, with society opening up, current value sales fell, but were still significantly higher than before the onset of COVID-19. The…

E-commerce continued to gain significant value share in 2021. While growth was not as high as in 2020, when value sales increased by more nearly third, there was very healthy double-digit value growth in 2021. The fact that online shopping continued…

In 2023, discounters emerged as the largest and most dynamic format in the grocery retail sector in Turkey, passing out supermarkets in terms of value sales for the first time. The key factor driving this dynamism was the further openings of new…

Due to high inflation towards the end of the review period, resulting in elevated prices of goods and services, consumers became increasingly price conscious, supporting the second consecutive year of value growth for discounters in the UK. As…

With inflation remaining elevated in 2023 and disposable income decreasing, consumers were pushed to look for ways to save money. This benefited discounters, with these stores having a strong reputation for offering lower prices than supermarkets.…

Discounters benefitted from heightened price sensitivity in Switzerland in 2023. With average prices increasing across almost all areas of daily life, including in groceries, many local consumers sought to rein in their spending by purchasing…

Discounters in Sweden recorded the fastest retail current value growth among grocery retailers in 2023. The lower-cost grocery retail format was able to derive benefits from the slowdown in the Swedish economy connected to unstable geopolitical…

Even though inflation rates declined in 2023 as compared to the record highs registered in 2022, they remained higher compared to pre-pandemic levels. As a result, price remained the main driving factor behind where many people chose to shop for…

In 2023, discounters in Portugal recorded double-digit retail value growth. The outbreak of COVID-19 changed consumer habits within discounters in Portugal, as more consumers looked to bulk buy goods. Moving into 2023, some consumers have continued…

Discounters in Norway fared well both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and have been able to sustain this solid performance in 2023. In the face of high inflation, locals are seeking out lower prices when grocery shopping. Price pressures have…