Western Europe

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…