France

Sales of Asian speciality drinks have not yet fully recovered from the sharp decline in off-trade volume terms that was seen in 2020 and during the first half of 2021 as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic made it difficult…

HDPE bottles remains the main pack type in French home care, dominating packaging unit volumes in categories like bleach or home care disinfectants. The heightened health and hygiene awareness due to the pandemic saw home care disinfectants record a…

Relatively high taxes and a lack of fiscal discipline are negatively affecting economic freedom, whilst France is prone to significant social unrest. Economic momentum is slowing, as higher borrowing costs adversely impact investment and confidence,…

The large size of the oral care packaging category in the French beauty and personal care industry can be attributed to a cultural emphasis on personal care and grooming, with oral health seen as an essential aspect of overall hygiene and beauty in…

Volume declines continue in computers and peripherals in 2023, after the boost seen during the pandemic era due to home lockdowns and working-from-home trends. Indeed, there was a dramatic rise in the number of people working from home and using…

Consumer electronics in France continues to face challenges in 2023. Firstly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw sales spikes during the lockdown period as consumers invested in in-home entertainment. As a result, the penetration rate for most…

Headphones is one of the better-performing categories in consumer electronics in volume terms in France in 2023 (second to wearables and performing slightly better than mobile phones). However, the category is still showing volume declines, and this…

In a cross-category trend, the aftermath of the pandemic-era boost to sales means current sluggish sales in home audio and cinema. Indeed, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, consumers sought products to enable a cinema-style experience at home, therefore…

Home video is suffering from the cross-category trends which are resulting in declining sales. Firstly, there is an organic slump in sales following the boom seen during the pandemic years, when consumers were upgrading their home entertainment…

Whilst still seeing sales declines, imaging devices is faring better in 2023 than seen in 2022. However, we should consider that imaging devices has been in a decline for a decline, due to the growing use of smartphones for taking photographs and…

In-car entertainment is in a long-term decline, which is in relation to the rise of smartphones which offer multiple options for drivers – from navigation and traffic information to in-car entertainment. For example, CarPlay is an Apple standard…

Mobile phones is one of the best performing categories (after wearable electronics and headphones) in consumer electronics in France in 2023, albeit still showing volume declines due to inflationary pressures reducing consumers’ spending power. That…

Portable players has been showing flat-negative growth over the review period, which worsened through 2021-2023. That said, the overall category volume is expected to be back in small positive volume growth in 2024. Wireless speakers remains the…

Wearable electronics is the best performing category in consumer electronics in France in 2023, albeit still in a small volume decline, with this being a notable slump following the positive sales seen in 2022. That said, much of this is attributed…

Flavoured/mixed lager packaging continued to register strong growth in France's alcoholic drinks packaging industry in 2022, helped by changing consumer preferences and the demand for unique taste experiences. Breweries sought to differentiate their…

Defying expectations and predictions, there was a significant recovery in travel and tourism in the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023. Within this, airlines has been a standout performer in France as well as many other countries. The…

Booking sales have seen a strong recovery over 2022-2023. Industry players have benefited from the rearrangement of postponed travel bookings, with many consumers having postponed travelling abroad during the pandemic. After two years of restrictions…

Lodging fared better in 2022 than had been expected and continues to perform well in 2023. 2020 and 2021 were a disaster for the hotel industry, with occupancy rates of 38% and 48% respectively, according to INSEE – French official statistics. The…

After an impressive recovery in 2022 as COVID-19 fears subsided, tourism flows have continued to post strong growth in 2023. There are no longer any restrictions in place while the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 pandemic to be over…

France’s travel industry is on the path to recovery in 2023 having already seen strong growth in inbound arrivals in 2022. Admittedly, the context is not ideal with Russia’s war in Ukraine, soaring inflation, and more cautious consumption habits…