Sweden

After debit cards, credit cards represent the most popular financial card in Sweden, although unlike the latter, the number of cards in circulation fell over the review period. While this was partly attributable to the impact of the COVID-19…

Both inbound and outbound flows have been heavily impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic and continued suffering in 2021, albeit they did see a partial recovery as some restrictions were eased. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, Sweden…

The global pandemic had a hugely detrimental impact on the category’s performance and deeply affected consumer behaviour in terms of how and where they travelled. Travel agents that generate their main source of income from organising trips abroad…

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a considerable boost to sales of cheese in 2020, which was maintained for most of 2021. With people staying at home more they prepared more home-made meals, which in turn led to a higher consumption of cheese. In…

COVID-19 had little to no impact on sales of baby food in Sweden and demand has remained relatively stable in 2022. Swedish parents are largely unwilling to compromise on quality when it comes to their children and therefore generally prioritise…

There was a slight increase in demand for confectionery packaging unit volumes in 2021, but it was slower than the decline seen a year earlier in 2020. Confectionery consumption was impacted by consumers spending more time at home due to COVID-19 in…

There have been mixed performances across the various luxury goods categories in 2022, although most have continued the recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in the second half of 2021 as restrictions were lifted. Growth is…

In 2022, cat food is expected to see slower retail volume and current value growth as Sweden moves past the COVID-19 pandemic and stabilisation occurs to some extent. Nonetheless, cat food will continue to perform well with growth rates closer to…

Retail volume growth for sanitary protection in 2021 was up marginally on 2020, with most categories – even those that posted declines – showing improved performances in this regard. Overall demand picked up as consumers began to resume their usual…

As a result of the pandemic many Swedes were more interested in keeping their homes, especially their bathrooms, clean in 2020 resulting in a steep increase in retail value sales growth of surface care during 2020. There were more articles and tips…

Home insecticides are generally a distress product, considered necessary and essential when there is a high incidence of insects in Sweden. Thus, it is greatly seasonal in the Nordic climate and demand is dependent on weather conditions being…

Variety stores was amongst the best-performing store-based retail channels in Sweden during 2020 and 2021 in terms of value growth, as well as growth in the number of outlets. Due to the increased acceptance of variety stores by Swedes, Dollarstore…

Supermarkets remained the leading modern grocery retail channel in Sweden in 2021, accounting for around half of sales. The channel also continued to see minor current value growth in 2021, although the growth rate was below the average for overall…

Lidl continued to dominate discounters in terms of number of outlets as well as value sales in 2021, with increasing numbers of consumers appreciating its mix of affordable private label products and A-brands. The only significant challenger to Lidl…

RTD tea continued to see strong off-trade volume growth in 2021, albeit not at the levels being seen before the outbreak of COVID-19. Demand for RTD tea rocketed over the review period thanks to entry of new brands such as Fuze Tea and also private…

Sales of bottled water declined in 2020 in off-trade and on-trade volume terms, with home seclusion limiting demand. Tap water in Sweden is generally safe to drink and therefore most households see limited need to purchase bottled water. On-trade…

Several categories within apparel accessories, such as gloves, scarves and hats/caps, were relatively mildly affected by the drop in demand seen in many apparel categories in 2020. Sales of such accessories were buoyed by strong consumer interest in…

Following double-digit current value growth recorded in 2021, during 2022, fine jewellery is expected to continue recording the highest levels of growth. However, costume jewellery is expected to continue to struggle, following its double-digit…

Gross lending in Sweden registered positive, yet slower growth in 2022, as the uncertain economic environment, exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, led to a decline in consumer confidence. In August 2022, the annual inflation rate soared…

While eye care remains one of the smallest OTC categories in Sweden, it is not a novel category that people would typically be unaware of. Eye care – notably due to allergy eye care – has seen high growth rates in 2021-2022 due to factors such as…