Western Europe

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries in Q4 2023 and 2024. Global inflation is moderating, although divergence remains among the key economies. Higher volatility in the energy markets and disruption of…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with income inequality, mass migration and rising uncertainty about another crisis being among the major ones. Nevertheless, within this lie untapped opportunities. This…

When compared to the pre-pandemic period, the demand for homewares in Italy declined during the COVID-19 crisis. This could be attributed to two main reasons. Firstly, as people were conscious about cleanliness during the pandemic, they chose to use…

Italy was hit hard by the pandemic, and the country experienced one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in Europe. This meant that many people spent extended periods of time at home, which created a strong desire to improve and personalise living…

In contrast to gardening, home furnishings saw decline in demand during the COVID-19 crisis, with an upturn in its performance as pandemic related restrictions were withdrawn. The category continued to grow in 2022, however sales remained below the…

In 2022, Italy's home and garden market saw demand undermined by the high rate of inflation, which was around 8.2%. With consumer confidence dropping from the previous year, consumers were more cautious with their spending and many opted to purchase…

Despite seeing decline in 2022, the gardening category continued to register a significantly higher level of value sales than before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic brought a marked rise in demand for gardening products as consumers…

Homewares’ sales witnessed a decline in the Swiss home and garden industry in 2022. This was due to a rise in popularity of minimalistic interior design trends. As more people prefer a simple and clutter-free living space, there was less demand for…

The home improvement category witnessed an increase in demand in 2022 in the Swiss home and garden market compared to pre-pandemic levels. With people spending more time at home due to the pandemic, there was renewed interest in home improvement…

The home furnishings category in Switzerland experienced a decline in value sales in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels. This decline was due to the rise in inflation and recession, which led to a decrease in consumer spending. Moreover, intense…

The home and garden industry in Switzerland experienced a decline in value sales (at constant prices) in 2022, compared to pre-pandemic levels. One of the primary reasons for this decline was the country's inflation rate, which stood at around 2.8%,…

Gardening power tools have grown in popularity in Switzerland's home and garden industry due to the country's high standard of living, large outdoor spaces, and environmental awareness. Sales witnessed an increase in demand in 2022 compared to…

Homewares in Turkey saw dynamic current value growth in 2022, but this was driven entirely by inordinately high inflation and price increases due to supply chain disruptions. Demand in the category in value terms at constant 2022 prices declined…

Inflation and price pressures boosted current value sales for home improvement in 2022. However, price rises and the cost-of-living crisis in the country reduced room in consumers’ budgets to undertake home improvement projects. As such, demand in…

Extremely high inflation rates in Turkey in 2022 drove high current value growth in home furnishings in the country, but also caused a significant contraction in value demand at constant 2022 prices, as consumers were forced to decrease the amount in…

The performance of home and garden in Turkey in 2022 was characterised by inordinately high inflation. According to OECD figures, the country witnessed an annual inflation rate of 73.2% in 2022, which resulted in a three-percentage point decline in…

While all home and garden categories saw high current value growth in 2022, driven by the inordinately high inflation rates seen in Turkey throughout the year, gardening was the only home and garden category that saw demand increase at constant 2022…

As local consumers started to spend greater time outside of the home in 2022 as pandemic-related restrictions gradually eased, they were also eating and cooking less frequently for themselves. This was the primary cause for the marginal decline in…

In 2022, pandemic-related restrictions in Sweden started to ease, which allowed for the greater resumption of renovation projects without interruptions. This positively impacted sales growth of home improvement during the year. This contributed…

In 2022’s economic climate, which was fuelled by the cost-of-living crisis and the rise in prices for commodities, including energy, Swedish consumers increasingly searched for options that helped reduce costs. This compounded the declines already…

In 2022, value sales of home and garden in Sweden experienced a marginal decline following the pandemic boom, although they remained higher than 2019 levels. As restrictions in Sweden gradually eased in 2022, many local consumers started to spend…

Current value sales of gardening in Sweden experienced a marginal decline in 2022, following a boom in demand during the pandemic, when there was a keen interest in taking up gardening as a relaxing activity. This resulted in a significant…

During the pandemic, much of the local population stayed at home and hence, cooking and eating food at home also increased. This boosted the need for many dining products, in particular, cutlery, with sales continuing to grow in 2022.

The Netherlands is a country that is generally cold throughout the year. Hence, many Dutch homes have underfloor heating systems, which require specific types of flooring to function effectively. Floor tiles, including marble, granite, and quartzite,…

After the easing of the pandemic and restrictions in 2022, consumers in the Netherlands wanted to revive their living spaces to create a sense of newness. As this trend resonated with the Art Deco movement, which was popular in the 1920s and 1930s in…

In 2022, value sales of home and garden in the Netherlands remained elevated when compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, the various categories within home and garden – gardening, home furnishings, home improvement and homewares – registered…

As most people in the Netherlands live in urban areas, they have limited outdoor space. Urban gardening allows them to grow plants and food in small spaces, such as balconies, rooftops, and community gardens.

Skyrocketing energy prices across the globe have had a considerable impact on the production of homewares which heavily rely on glass. The production of glass is an energy-intensive process and thus, in the face of rising prices, production was no…

After a spike in demand for most homewares categories in 2020, when the pandemic first hit the country, and a dip in sales a year later, 2022 saw sales rise again as consumers stocked up on eating and cooking products. During the pandemic, Germans…

Value sales of beverageware declined in 2022 following double-digit growth the previous year, primarily because most local consumers had already purchased such products in 2021 during home seclusion as a result of the pandemic. In addition, in 2022,…

The pandemic and subsequent home seclusion in 2020 led to a premiumisation trend within kitchens in Spain. With greater time spent at home, local consumers began to shift away from perceiving kitchens (and consequently, kitchen furniture and other…

Demand for wooden flooring saw strong growth in Germany in 2022, helped by improvements in the use of sustainable materials and recycling methods. Modern flooring designs and consumers wanting to keep their homes attractive, especially for social…

Value sales of cordless drills continued to increase in 2022, albeit with growth stabilising following considerable demand during the pandemic when consumers increasingly invested in renovation projects in their homes. One factor driving the…

In 2022, lighting was the fastest growing category within home furnishings in Spain, driven by further demand for light-emitting diode lamps (LED). LED lamps have been growing dynamically for a number of years due to their energy-saving credentials.…

Home furnishings recorded a strong rebound in 2022, following the declining sales this category registered a year earlier. Consumers had been focusing on essential items in 2021, rather than home furnishing products such as indoor furniture, dining…

In 2022, France witnessed high inflation, which was mainly attributed to the hike in energy and commodity prices. Consequently, local consumers sought ways to reduce their expenses and turned to more affordable options, including light-emitting diode…

While gardening and home improvement continued to record dynamic and accelerating growth in 2022, homewares and home furnishings both saw considerable slowdowns, resulting in markedly different performances of the various home and garden categories.…

Home and garden sales recorded strong current value growth in 2022, albeit with inflation-driven price increases playing quite a big role in this, with growth in real (constant) value terms advancing at a slower rate. German consumers continued their…

France experienced a drop in consumer confidence in 2022, which was attributed to a surge in inflation resulting from a rise in energy prices, driven by war in Ukraine. This increase in energy costs also led to a rise in agricultural expenses and…

Gardening in Spain continued to record strong growth in 2022, in similar levels to the previous year. Part of this growth trend was fuelled by rising prices, supporting elevated current value sales as inflation levels remained high in the country.…

Gardening had already been seeing healthy current value growth rates in the previous two years as consumers were confined at home more than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gardening became a very popular pastime for consumers, who considered it a…

Throughout 2020 and most of 2021, consumers in France were confined to their homes for extended periods of time due to the pandemic. Gardening emerged as a popular activity during this period, providing a source of pleasure and a way for consumers to…

Despite the easing of restrictions in 2022, many local consumers continued to spend greater time at home with remote working remaining a relevant trend. This resulted in consumers cooking at home more frequently and hence, using the kitchen more…

Value sales of home improvement in the UK declined in 2022 due to a variety of factors, including the war in Ukraine and extreme inflation spikes. The war in Ukraine resulted in rising costs of raw materials and supplies, such as timber, steel,…

Despite overall declining volume sales, mattresses witnessed a strong premiumisation trend in 2022 as high-income consumers were less affected by inflation and income pressures. This trend towards premium mattresses also allowed another trend to…

Home and garden in the UK experienced a decline in current value sales terms in 2022 following the boost it received in 2021. As many local consumers were unable to travel in 2021, they focused on improving their living spaces as they spent greater…

Gardening current value sales in the UK declined in 2022 following two years of strong growth, but nevertheless, remained above pre-pandemic levels. The uncertain economic climate had an impact on consumer confidence, resulting in many deciding not…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. In 2023, global inflation is expected to ease from its peak in 2022, but remaining significantly above-trend. Geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market are…

Now in its seventh edition, this report explores the top digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this edition touch on topics such as second-hand shopping, community group buying,…