Sweden

In 2023, the homewares category in Sweden faced significant challenges as consumers delayed purchases due to the rising cost of living, driven by inflation, higher interest rates, and increased energy and food prices. Consequently, the category…

In 2023, the home improvement category in Sweden witnessed a notable decline, primarily attributed to the crash in the real estate market. With dwindling property demand and reduced construction activity amid an ailing economy, the housing sector…

In 2023, the global surge in demand for LED lamps was propelled by multiple factors, creating a cohesive narrative of growth and opportunity. Initially, the momentum stemmed from the renowned energy efficiency of these products, a trait highly…

In 2023, the home and garden market in Sweden experienced a decline due to a decrease in consumer confidence. This, coupled with rising inflation and interest rates, contributed to a negative economic outlook. This downturn led to a reduction in the…

In 2023, the gardening category in Sweden experienced declining growth across categories such as fertilisers, gardening equipment, and watering products. This downturn was primarily driven by consumers postponing purchases due to the rising cost of…

Sunglasses in Sweden is one of the most dynamic categories in eyewear. Since the post-pandemic boom in sales, volume growth slowed in 2022 and 2023, but momentum is building in 2024. The strong premiumisation trend coupled with inflation continues to…

Spectacles in Sweden continues to display solid retail volume and current value growth boosted by rising unit prices and inflation. The ageing population along with lifestyle changes, such as greater exposure to digital screens, is boosting demand…

Eyewear in Sweden continues to display a robust performance in 2024, buoyed by an ageing population and increasing time spent on digital screens, which are both boosting the need for more specialist or value-added eyewear products. The rising…

Retail volume sales of contact lenses and solutions has been relatively stagnant in Sweden for much of the review period, although there was a slight uptick in 2024. Advanced features and rising prices brought on by inflation has underpinned current…

In 2023, Sweden’s economy contracted slightly, with a decline in private spending and housing investment. However, the economy is projected to improve in 2024, with a forecast compound annual growth rate of 1.7% over 2023-2028. Furthermore, inflation…

In 2024, pet products is recording positive retail value growth, driven by other pet products and pet healthcare. Supplements for large animals, such as cats and dogs, are extensively developed and easily accessible in most pet aisles. Conversely,…

In 2024, pet ownership of cats and dogs remains popular in Sweden, while other pet ownership is in decline. However, the rising number of pets purchased during COVID-19 has led to increased pet abandonment reports, consequently slowing pet food…

In 2024, other pet food in Sweden is recording a decline in retail volume, while birds, fish, and small mammal food is expected to record retail value growth. This uptrend is primarily the result of rising unit prices attributed to inflation and a…

In 2024, dog food in Sweden is recording positive growth, with the humanisation trend driving sales of dog treats and mixers. As pet owners increasingly view their furry companions as integral parts of their families, they seek out treats and mixers…

In 2024, retail value sales were positive in cat food, with cats being the most prevalent pet choice in the country. However, cat ownership has reached a stable phase, with the growth in adoptions showing signs of plateauing compared to the surge…

Sun care in Sweden continues to bask in positive developments, fuelled by a return to travel and a warm, sunny summer in 2023. While weather fluctuations can impact consumption patterns, the overall trend towards sun protection remains strong.…

In soft drinks as a whole, metal beverage cans was recording increasing unit volumes and was gaining share in 2023, which is expected to continue over the forecast period. Metal beverage cans have continued eating into the share of PET bottles, which…

Skin care continues to be a bright spot within beauty and personal care in Sweden in 2023. While volume growth has shown signs of slowing down after a period of rapid expansion, strong trends in premiumisation and inflation have kept value sales…

Premium beauty and personal care in Sweden continues to be a powerhouse, experiencing robust growth in 2023. This growth comes at the expense of mass beauty and personal care, with consumers increasingly trading up for more sophisticated beauty and…

Oral care in Sweden is a well-established category, experiencing stable volume growth and strong value gains in 2023. Significant volume increases are limited due to the product area's maturity. Growth is primarily driven by two factors: consumers…

Men's toiletries in Sweden experienced a rise in segmentation in 2023, with consumers demanding products specifically formulated for their needs. This trend is fuelled by a growing awareness of the differences between men's and women's skin and hair.…

Swedish mass beauty and personal care experienced a positive year in 2023, with retail value sales growing at a near double-digit rate. This growth comes despite the ongoing shift towards premium products in beauty and personal care overall.

Flexible packaging continued to dominate hot drinks packaging unit volumes in 2023. Flexible packaging provides industry players with scope to experiment with their packaging design, and also offers affordability, durability and convenience. Leading…

Hair care in Sweden continues to see positive volume growth, with value further boosted by inflation and a modest premiumisation trend. Unlike other beauty and personal care categories like fragrances and skin care, hair care has not witnessed a…

A powerful current of premiumisation is sweeping fragrances in Sweden. Consumers are increasingly drawn to niche or artisanal scents, seeking individuality and exclusivity. These unique olfactory experiences offer a way to stand out from the crowd.…

Depilatories remained a relatively uneventful category in 2023. While the continued popularity of the Estrid brand injects some innovation, overall growth is modest. Depilatory products are considered an essential item by most Swedish women, leading…

Deodorant sales in Sweden exhibited stagnation in 2023. Volume sales remained flat, with any growth in value primarily driven by inflation and a modest premiumisation trend. Deodorants are considered an essential beauty and personal care product,…

Colour cosmetics in Sweden continues to flourish, demonstrating strong post-pandemic sales. While volume growth has slowed down due to market maturity, value sales remain robust. This is fuelled by a powerful premiumisation trend, a steady stream of…

Beauty and personal care in Sweden remained stable in terms of volume sales in 2023. However, value growth was significant due to a powerful trend towards premiumisation and high inflation. Swedes view beauty and personal care products as essential,…

Bath and shower, as a product area as a whole, faces challenges due to its high degree of maturity and commodification. This translates to declining volume sales. However, a silver lining exists in the form of a strong premiumisation trend and…

Baby and child-specific products in Sweden maintained its positive trajectory in 2023. While volume sales remained stable, value sales received a boost from inflation and a growing preference for premium products. Swedish parents prioritise their…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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, retail value sales of wipes registered a moderate rise. Inflation drove up retail prices of wipes in 2023 as manufacturers faced rising costs from energy, raw materials and imports. Cost inflation, increased input prices, supply chain…

Retail value sales of tissue and hygiene grew in 2023, underpinned by rising retail price points. In retail volume terms, price increases dampened the magnitude of volume growth rates relative to value.

In 2023, current value sales of Rx/reimbursement adult incontinence rose substantially due to a spike in unit prices. Although Rx/reimbursement adult incontinence products are available free of charge through Sweden’s public healthcare system, volume…

In 2023, rising prices led to a dramatic increase in current value sales of retail tissue, as manufacturers passed on higher costs to consumers. Retail volume sales increased marginally in the year, as consumption patterns normalised given the full…

Retail volume growth of retail adult incontinence slowed in 2023 as consumers were confronted with higher priced adult incontinence products. Cost inflation rose throughout the year as the war in Ukraine put upward pressure on energy prices, raw…