Western Europe

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. Global inflation is reaching a peak, although geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market remain key risks. The impact varies between countries, with…

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…

The briefing examines how retail and wholesale industry performs globally and in the largest countries in terms of retail and wholesale output. The report also provides data for production, imports, exports, industry’s costs, industry’s profitability…

The global outlook has improved as of Q1 2021, thanks to vaccination progress in many developed countries. Nevertheless, the recovery prospects remain distant for most economies in the face of the spread of new, more infectious variants of the virus.…

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered the most severe global recession in nearly a century. Businesses are operating in a world of anxieties and uncertainties, not knowing what will be the new normal or when output and consumer spending…

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered the most severe global recession since World War II. In Q4 2020, the end of the pandemic started as countries began administering effective vaccines among the population; however, vaccine distribution…

While Western European store-based retailing was badly hit by Coronavirus (COVID-19) in 2020, grocery retailers, which remained open throughout lockdowns, experienced a spike in sales due to the pandemic. Supermarkets, in particular, benefited from a…

The pandemic led German consumers to focus on health and hygiene more than they already did before, which benefited channels within health and beauty specialist retailers which focus on pharmaceutical, health and hygiene products. As such, both…

Health and beauty specialists registered a slight decline in value sales in 2021, due to its largest channel, chemists/pharmacies, registering a significant drop in value sales, as consumers were less concerned about COVID-19. Also, as many consumers…

Driven by significant price increases, overall health and beauty specialists saw strong growth in value sales in Austria in 2023, roughly at the same level as retail offline overall. Consumers' willingness to spend in this category has generally…

Health and beauty specialists in Belgium continued to enjoy positive growth in current value terms in 2023. However, this driven mainly by inflationary pressures, as retailers, squeezed by rising input costs, were forced to raise their prices. Within…

Health and beauty specialists continued to see some benefit from consumers’ return to retail shopping in Denmark in 2023. However, although the Danish economy as a whole was performing relatively well in 2023 with falling unemployment and inflation,…

Health and beauty specialists in Finland is the second biggest non-grocery channel in Finland and is a category of growing importance. One of the main reasons for this growth is that pharmacy products are mostly essential. A high share of overall…

Beauty specialists benefitted from the continued post-pandemic return to increased time spent socialising and working outside of the home in France in 2023. Demand rose in categories like colour cosmetics, among others. Similarly, optical goods…

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,…

Health and beauty specialists saw current value growth in Greece in 2023. Players in the channel are working hard to differentiate their offers and adapt to evolving market trends. The Body Shop launched a store in Athens that is sustainably designed…

Sales in health and beauty specialists slumped into a negative performance in Ireland in 2023, following a positive pattern in 2022. We note that the 2022 growth was primarily driven by the growing health and wellbeing and preventative health trends,…

Health and beauty specialists saw moderate growth in current value terms in 2023, although this was largely the result of price inflation rather than an increase in demand. When it comes to pharmacies small and independent players account for most…

The Danish health and personal care store Normal witnessed a strong performance in 2023 due to the success of its retail concept. Consumers have been flocking to Normal for budget offers in 2023, with the retailer competing on price with both…

All health and beauty specialist retailers grew in Portugal in 2023, with beauty specialists reaching the highest growth – having seen the most significant negative impact during COVID-19. Following a decline in outlets in 2022, store numbers…