Slovakia

Health and beauty specialists were the best performing retail channel in Slovakia in 2023 in terms of value growth. There was also a significant increase in outlet openings. However, it was a mixed bag. While pharmacies registered a healthy increase…

The strong wave of influenza in Q1 2023 and the stronger than anticipated return of common respiratory infections are stimulating the demand for many herbal/traditional products in Slovakia at the end of the review period. Herbal/traditional products…

Inflationary pressures and strong price increases have affected consumer purchasing behaviour overall, and we are seeing this reflected in home care sales in Slovakia. Whist value sales are supported by the price increases, volume sales are in a…

Home insecticides is managing to achieve marginal positive volume growth overall, while value is supported by price hikes which are affecting home care as a whole. The best-performing subcategories are electric insecticides (in both value and volume…

Home product specialists were the worst performing retail channel in Slovakia in 2023. With inflation still high, consumers put off home renovation projects and also cut down on spend on homewares and home furnishings. As such, home products register…

In 2023, hot drinks’ performance was impacted by a number of factors, with divergent or opposing effects on categories. For example, cocoa commodity price hikes created upward pressure on retail unit prices in other hot drinks, driving up value…

The number of households is set to increase slightly, while the average household size will remain unchanged in Slovakia over 2023-2028. Single person households will remain the dominant household type and the fastest household expenditure growth is…

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,…

Ice cream is achieving positive volume sales in Slovakia in 2024, with stronger value sales being supported by another round of unit price hikes. However, the deterrent of the high prices is being balanced out by warm weather and out-of-home…

Insight into income, wealth and expenditure of consumers and households is vital in helping businesses make strategic decisions with regards to which country (or even which region within a country) to enter, which consumer segment to target, which…

The competition from cheaper drinks alternatives, such as flavoured bottled water and non alcoholic beer, was increasingly felt by juice in Slovakia towards the end of the review period. This was because the typical Slovak consumer was increasingly…

Value growth in laundry care is being supported by inflationary price hikes, whilst volume sales remain in a decline. This is due to price-sensitive consumers budgeting in laundry care by using lower volumes of product per use, in addition to doing…

While inflation remained high in 2023, government measures aimed at protecting the hospitality sector benefitted limited-service restaurants. In particular, the reduced 10% VAT rate (from a previous 20%), which was introduced during the pandemic, was…

Lodging operators remain under intense pressure with regards to price in 2023. All operating expenses have increased at an unprecedented rate (well above the general inflation), putting upward pressure on lodging prices. With the cost of living…

Mass beauty and personal care in Slovakia recorded healthy growth in current value terms, albeit boosted by high inflation. In 2023, energy, transport and production costs remained high, which forced manufacturers to increase unit prices. Although…

Demand for ready meals in 2023 is significantly impacted by the weakening purchasing power of Slovak households, which is causing consumers to cut back on spending. All category members are seeing volume sales declines. However, economy-priced ready…

In 2023, men’s grooming in Slovakia witnessed robust current value growth, fuelled mostly by men’s skin care, which outperformed the entire category in current value and retail volume terms. Facial hair and beards are popular in Slovakia, which has…

Menstrual care in Slovakia was affected by rising prices across all types of products in 2023, however retail volume growth witnessed steady progress. Consumers are widely accustomed to buying their favourite brands and switching to cheaper brands is…

Demand for nappies/diapers/pants in Slovakia was negatively affected by rising prices and lower birth rates in the country, which resulted in retail volume decline in 2023. Some consumers chose to make products last longer and made fewer purchases to…

Although smoking prevalence and the number of smokers in Slovakia have been falling gradually, they are still considered high, compared to other European countries. In December 2022, the Slovak government approved an action plan, with a focus on…