Understand the key trends shaping demand and future opportunities...
Understand the key trends shaping demand and future opportunities across industries in Eastern Europe, with the latest regional and country-level analysis and market statistics.
E-commerce posted another strong year of growth in 2022, with current value sales buoyed by higher inflation rates. Following the boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, online retailers witnessed more sustainable growth as many consumers returned to…
Growth in total e-commerce current value sales in 2022 was down markedly on 2021, and also much lower than the CAGR for the entire review period. This was partly explained by the normalisation of trade, in that after having received a significant…
E-commerce continued to gain significant value share in 2022 as part of the ongoing development of this category. Many consumers sought out cheaper prices online as the cost of living crisis hit many Croatian households. On balance, Croatia is seeing…
High inflation impacted retail e-commerce in Bulgaria in 2023. As such, though retail e-commerce registered high current value growth, constant value sales fell. Consumers cut back on spending on less essential items and this impacted e-commerce.…
E-commerce registered double-digit current value growth in 2022, as well as healthy constant value growth, in spite of high inflation. The high inflation was due to the war in Ukraine, which led to soaring energy prices, which in turn led to higher…
Non-grocery retail is seeing robust double-digit growth in 2022, stimulated by the return to out-of-home lifestyles following the era of the pandemic restrictions. This is also notably supported by the ongoing economic recovery in Slovenia. Inflation…
As COVID-19 fears subsided and restrictions were eased some non-grocery retailers saw a boost to sales, but especially those channels related to activities outside the home. For example, with consumers starting to travel home and abroad again there…
In 2022, though there was healthy growth in current value sales, constant value sales fell. The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to soaring inflation and dampening volume sales. With such economic…
Lithuania implemented strict lockdown measures until the spring of 2022, which meant that only essential stores were open for consumers. However, as summer arrived, there was a noticeable increase in traffic to offline stores, indicating a growing…
Consumers continued to move back offline in terms of non-grocery retailers. As the threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related retail and consumer movement restrictions eased, consumers were more willing and able to return to visiting…
Georgians shifted back to in-store shopping behaviours following the removal of pandemic restrictions. Many consumers chose to prioritise retail shopping in shopping malls and high streets as lifestyles shifted back to normality. Non-grocery…
Despite steep price hikes resulting from the dramatic and prolonged spike in inflation, overall current value sales growth for non-grocery retailers in Estonia in 2022 was only slightly stronger than that recorded in 2021. Demand in all channels was…
Croatia has largely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the boost in summer tourism supporting sales growth in non-grocery retailing. Tourism is an important part of the local economy, but the pandemic restrictions had stifled visitor numbers…
In 2022, though there was double-digit growth in current value sales, growth in constant value sales
Hypermarkets in Ukraine lagged behind the other main modern grocery retailers channels in terms of current value sales growth in 2023. These types of outlets have lost ground to smaller formats since the start of the Russian invasion, in part because…
High inflation and the deteriorating economic situation in the Czech Republic led to weaker volume sales for hypermarkets in 2023. Shoppers were keen to reduce costs and cut back on the number of products they buy, leading to a decrease in volume…
Hypermarkets were the best performing grocery channel in Slovakia in 2023 in terms of value growth. Recent openings of new outlets boosted value sales, including the new Kaufland Bratislava outlet discussed below. However, with inflation still high,…
In 2023, hypermarkets in Romania continued to see retail value growth; however, footfall declined. The social function of hypermarkets before COVID-19 was a place for shopping and entertainment. This has diminished significantly since 2021, with the…
Hypermarkets recoded low growth in value sales in 2023 and was by far the weakest performer among modern grocery retailers. The channel struggles with consumers’ disinclination to buy groceries in large shopping centres on the outskirts of cities.…
Hypermarkets saw shrinking value sales in Hungary in 2023, compared to the double-digit growth rates seen the previous year. This is attributed to competition from other channels, such as discounters (eg Lidl and Aldi) which offer an increasingly…