Western Europe

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was highly detrimental to sales of sunglasses with the overall category seeing sales declines of more than a third in 2020. This is because consumers were required to stay at home in lockdown, reducing the need to…

Since the early stages of the pandemic, there has been an upswing of media reports discussing the potential safety hazards of contact lens use, specifically in terms of contracting COVID-19 via the eyes. There was no consensus amongst eye health…

Retail volume sales of premium luxury and cars rose for the first time in four years during 2022. There is a growing sense among some local consumers that life is short and should be enjoyed, which is supporting demand for indulgence and conspicuous…

Having plunged by more than a quarter during 2020, retail constant value sales (2022 prices) of designer apparel and footwear (ready to wear) began to recover in 2021, with this trend continuing into 2022. Nonetheless, retail constant value sales…

Retail constant value sales (2022 prices) of luxury goods grew for the first time in three years during 2022 but remained well below their pre-pandemic level. The performance of luxury goods in Spain depends to a large extent on tourists visiting…

Retail volume sales of fine wines/champagne and spirits continued to expand during 2022, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in the previous year. However, retail constant value sales (2022 prices) of fine wines/champagne and spirits declined…

Following the partial overall recovery in 2021, eyewear will continue recording overall value and volume growth in 2022, although volume growth will see a rapid deceleration. Like other EU countries, Spain has continued to suffer from subsequent…

In 2021 home care sales slowed after experiencing above average growth in 2020 due to the onset of COVID-19. Despite the popularity of traditional alternatives and high poverty levels in the country, population growth, retailing development and…

The outbreak of COVID-19 had a strongly negative impact on the Spanish economy. Given that it was already struggling prior to the outbreak of the virus, Spaniards were forced to return to the frugal purchasing habits seen during the 2008-2009 global…

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers in Italy spent a lot of time in home seclusion in 2020. This boosted sweet spreads consumption in this year, as many consumers use these products as a breakfast solution or as a sweet treat or snack.…

Glass continues to be the leading pack type in sauces, dressings and condiments with a strong showing in product areas such as pickled products, dips, mayonnaise, ketchup, barbecue sauces and tomato pastes and purées. Glass packaging has been rooted…

With the COVID-19 pandemic seeing consumers spending a lot more time at home, and with consumer foodservice outlets closed for extended periods, this boosted demand for some products in ready meals. For example, with consumers preparing and eating…

Most areas of processed meat and seafood saw a spike in demand in 2020, when the pandemic meant that consumers were spending a lot more time at home than usual, giving them more time for at-home meal preparation, a trend that was also being driven by…

Shelf stable beans was still recording positive unit volume growth in 2021, albeit much slower than in 2020, as growing health consciousness in Italy, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, also included increased awareness of the nutritional benefits…

During the COVID-19 pandemic dairy products became increasingly present in the shopping trolleys/baskets of Italian consumers, supported by the fact that they were spending a lot more time at home than usual due to lockdown, travel restrictions,…

While a number of confectionery categories (eg seasonal chocolate, boxed assortments) were badly impacted by the pandemic in 2020, mainly due to the restrictions introduced to slow its spread, other product areas (eg countlines, tablets) actually…

Other baby food, which includes products like baby rusks, teething biscuits, baby fruit juices and baby herbal tea, again recorded an improved performance in 2021. However, while this benefited the packaging unit volumes of PET bottles as well as the…

The performance of wine continued to be affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19), as the emergence of new variants characterised the year, leading, for example, to renewed restrictions in early 2021. This continued to favour home consumption, with COVID-19…

Coronavirus (COVID-19) impacted spirits very significantly, as these products are usually consumed outside of the home. Overall, the category's on-trade volume sales saw a sharp decline in 2020. The slump in on-trade sales was a result of the closure…

RTDs rebounded strongly in on-trade volume sales terms in 2021, following a steep decline in 2020, due to the exigencies of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. As lockdown and other restrictions eased and local consumers returned towards pre-pandemic…