Retailing

Mercado Libre, the leader in retail e-commerce in Latin America, has based its development on the idea of increasing access to e-commerce and financial services in the region, creating a robust ecosystem that allows users to buy and sell products,…

Continuous transformation, driven by AI advancements, economic uncertainty, and digitalisation, has deeply impacted all facets of the retail industry. Retailers are responding by adopting new strategies to meet evolving consumer expectations. This…

Vending in Sweden was one the channels that was heavily hit by the mobility restrictions implemented to stem the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the country. When all of the COVID-19 restrictions were removed through 2022, the…

In 2023, vending in Germany experienced a stronger value sales decline, following a more modest fall the previous two years during the post-pandemic reopening. While vending locations, such as streets, transport hubs, and semi-captive environments…

Supermarkets in Sweden were at the forefront of the battle against inflation surges in Sweden towards the end of the review period. This is unsurprising as supermarkets is the highest-value channel within grocery retailers in the country. In 2023,…

Despite recording high single-digit current value growth in 2023, the solid performance by supermarkets in Germany was largely driven by the historically high inflation rate, especially for food and drinks. In comparison to discounters, the other…

Small local grocers in Sweden form part of the very well-developed grocery retailing infrastructure in the market. However, grocery retailing continued to be dominated by major large modern retailers like ICA, Lidl, Coop and Axfood at the end of the…

Small local grocers in Germany recorded the lowest current value growth among all grocery retailing channels in 2023. This corresponded to a strong decline in constant terms due to the historically high inflation during the year; food and…

Retail in Sweden continued to be affected by the challenging Swedish macroeconomic environment in 2023, characterised by negative real GDP growth and high inflation rates. The high inflationary pressure on prices especially affected groceries, but…

In 2023, retail in Germany displayed resilience amid challenging economic conditions, with varying performances across different channels. While inflationary pressures continued to influence consumer spending patterns, a gradual stabilisation in the…

Retail e-commerce in Sweden, after almost a decade of double-digit retail current value growth, peaking over 2019-2021, witnessed stabilisation or correction towards the end of the review period. Following a small drop in 2022, retail e-commerce…

In 2023, Germany's e-commerce landscape showed signs of potential recovery, following 2022’s sales slump as the country emerged from the pandemic. A stronger return to stores, ongoing economic volatility, and low consumer confidence stemming from the…

Like other types of grocery retailers, hypermarkets in Sweden were impacted directly by historically high inflation, which reached high single-digit rates in 2022 and 2023. As a result, consumers became more price-sensitive and they started to look…

The economic slowdown in 2023 somewhat undermined the performance of hypermarkets in Germany, as the format is highly dependent on non-grocery purchases often considered by consumers as discretionary spending. This adds to the longer-term challenges…

Home products specialists in Sweden were impacted by the lowered rates of new construction, which started to decrease in 2022. In 2023, the rate of new construction reached its lowest point since 2011, with only 25,500 new houses starting…

In 2023, value sales of home products specialists in Germany experienced a marginal downturn following a particularly strong performance the previous year. This channel, which includes home improvement and gardening stores, homewares and home…

Pharmacy chains Apotek Hjärtat (ICA Sverige) and Apoteket (Apoteket AB) continued to lead health and beauty specialists in Sweden, accounting for slightly more than one half of retail value shares in 2023. Kronans Apotek (Oriola AB) was the only…

Following a marginal decline the previous year, health and beauty specialists in Germany recorded moderate value growth in 2023, mainly driven by the rising demand for beauty and personal care products. With rising overall costs in Germany,…

Within general merchandise stores in Sweden, similar to discounters in grocery retailers, variety stores’ positioning engendered robustness despite the difficult and unpredictable geopolitical and economic times. The main focus of the key players in…

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…

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…

In a macroeconomic environment marked by stagnation and low consumer confidence, in combination with historically high inflation rates, especially for food and drinks, discounters in Germany significantly outperformed all other grocery channels in…

Following marginal decreases in retail current value sales in 2021 and 2022, direct selling in Sweden faced another difficult year in 2023. While retail current value sales rose slightly, this was due to high inflationary pressure on prices. At…

In 2023, direct selling in Germany continued on its growth trajectory, albeit at a steadier pace compared to the spike during the pandemic. The channel's success is largely attributed to its effective digital transformation and the adoption of a…

Historically high inflation rates created huge challenges for convenience retailers in Sweden towards the end of the review period. As consumers started to plan their purchases more carefully and show a preference for discounters and large format…

Convenience retailers in Germany recorded a resilient performance in 2023, despite a slowdown compared to the rapid growth witnessed in 2022 when cultural, leisure and professional events, including major trade, resumed at full capacity following…

Appliances and electronics specialists in Sweden was one of the few channels that posted a decrease in retail value sales in 2022 and 2023. This was the case even in current terms, even though the inflation rate reached a high single-digit figure in…

Despite a recovery to pre-pandemic value sales levels in 2022, driven by high inflation and pent-up demand for in-store shopping as mobility restrictions eased, appliances and electronics specialists in Germany returned to decline in 2023. This was…

Apparel and footwear specialists in Sweden had to deal with unstable macroeconomic and geopolitical environments towards the end of the review period. The high inflation rates in 2022 and 2023 forced consumers to prioritise purchases of essential…

In 2023, apparel and footwear specialists in Germany, including H&M, experienced modest growth compared to the double-digit rise recorded the previous year due to an easing of pandemic restrictions and pent-up demand, yet sales remained below…

In 2023, vending maintained dynamic current value growth in South Korea, driven by the surge in outdoor activities following the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, although it remained a small channel within the overall retail landscape. This uptick…

Although supermarkets saw a second consecutive year of decline in outlet numbers in South Korea in 2023, current value sales maintained low growth. Positioned between convenience stores and hypermarkets, supermarkets leverage their smaller size for…

In 2023, small local grocers in South Korea saw yet another year of decline in both current value sales and outlet numbers. The channel has been encountering difficulties as consumer preference is tending to shift towards e-commerce and convenience…

In 2023, retail in South Korea maintained solid current value growth both online and offline, with growth also returning to outlet numbers in the offline space. Value increases were seen across most channels, although growth in outlet numbers was…

In 2023, retail e-commerce maintained double-digit current value growth in South Korea. In recent times, the retail landscape in the country witnessed a remarkable surge in online shopping activities, driving a substantial increase in online…

In 2023, hypermarkets in South Korea faced even slower current value growth than in the previous year, along with a continued decline in outlet numbers, encountering a combination of changing consumer habits and difficult economic conditions. A…

Home products specialists maintained its decline in outlet numbers in South Korea in 2023, but returned to low growth in current value terms. Homewares and home furnishings stores saw the slowest value growth rate in 2023. This channel faced…

Health and beauty specialists saw fairly static outlet numbers in South Korea in 2023, after several years of decline, but saw a second year of growth in current value terms. The largest channel in value terms, pharmacies, maintained growth in South…

General merchandise stores maintained growth in both outlet numbers and current value sales in South Korea in 2023, with increases seen for both variety stores and department stores, although the latter remained by far the larger channel. Department…

Discounters remained only a small retail channel in South Korea in 2023, and continued to see a decline in outlet numbers in this year, although returned to slight current value growth. In South Korea, major retailers have embraced private label…

Direct selling saw little movement in its value sales in current terms in South Korea in 2023, with just a slight decline seen. In April 2023, a legal shift unfolded, permitting sponsored direct sellers to engage in non-face-to-face transactions…

Convenience retailers maintained dynamic growth in current value terms and in terms of outlet numbers in South Korea in 2023. The number of convenience retailers surpassed 50,000 in 2021, and this figure increased to nearly 60,000 in 2023. The…

Appliances and electronics specialists maintained its long-standing decline in outlet numbers in South Korea in 2023, and although it returned to growth in current value terms, this only made a small dent in the losses experienced since 2019. The…

Outlet numbers in apparel and footwear specialists in South Korea remained fairly static in 2023, after several years of decline. Meanwhile, although sales failed to return to anywhere near the pre-pandemic level in current value terms, they…

Vending saw strong growth in current value terms in Saudi Arabia in 2023 with the category still seen to have further growth potential. New opportunities are arising from the increase in tourism and the development of new shopping and entertainment…

Vending sales slumped in 2023 in Ireland, compared to a better performance seen in 2022. This is attributed to the inflationary environment leading to low consumer spending power, as well as a normalisation effect following the uptick seen in 2022 as…

Consumers are becoming more health-conscious and are seeking healthier food options. Supermarkets in Saudi Arabia are looking to respond to this by offering a wider range of organic, natural, and locally sourced products. They are also providing more…

Supermarkets was facing some ongoing challenges in Ireland in 2023, following on from the change in consumer behaviour which was seen both during the era of the pandemic and also currently, due to the cost-of-living crisis. Similarly to hypermarkets,…

Small local grocers continue to face strong competition from modern grocery retailers and e-commerce. This is because modern grocery retailers such as supermarkets and hypermarkets look to provide a wide variety of products under one roof and use…

Sales in small local grocers start to creep up again in Ireland in 2023. However, some challenges remain, as this channel also faces competition from other retail options. Whilst small local grocers tend to offer proximity convenience to consumers,…