Western Europe

In 2024, eyewear in France is witnessing slower growth compared to recent years, in both retail volume and current value terms. With inflation softening in 2024, French consumers and inbound tourists who can afford to pay for luxury products are…

Sales of contact lenses and solutions remain driven by daily disposable lenses in the Netherlands, continuing the trend evidenced during the latter part of the review period. Manufacturers are committed to increasing the penetration of daily…

Retail volume and current value sales of contact lenses and solutions in Spain are expected to see strong growth over 2024, albeit slower compared to 2023. Economic factors in 2024 continue to exert a strong influence on the category. In this vein,…

Sales of contact lenses and solutions in France are moderating in 2024 following a period of strong growth during and directly after the COVID-19 pandemic. The inconvenience of spectacle lenses fogging up while wearing masks had deterred some people…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco saw volumes continue to fall in France in 2023. By comparison with other categories, fine cut tobacco was spared during the COVID-19 years due to the fact that it was subject to lower taxation than cigarettes.…

The market for cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Finland showed a mixed performance in 2023. On a positive note, cigars managed to maintain the broadly positive growth trend which had been in evidence since the start of the pandemic. The…

Overall, retail volume sales of cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Denmark continued to see a double-digit decline in 2023. The demand for these types of tobacco products remained negatively affected as they tend to have an older consumer…

Volume sales of cigars and cigarillos continued to decrease in Austria in 2023, but at a significantly slower rate than cigarettes. Demand for these products experienced a strong push during the pandemic, and volume sales for both cigars and…

Cigarettes saw volume sales decline in France in 2023. Legal sales of cigarettes were forced to take another backseat in 2023. Having seen no tax increase in 2022 (the immediate post-pandemic period), taxes rose again in 2023, which resulted in a…

Volume sales of cigarettes in Finland continued to decline in 2023. Finns are very aware of the harmful impact of smoking, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is a clear polarisation taking place between those who smoke and…

Retail volumes sales of cigarettes in Denmark continued to see a double-digit decline in 2023. This performance fits with a general downward trajectory in the smoking prevalence for cigarettes in the market, as taxation, health and wellness trends…

In 2023, the retail value sales of cigarettes in Austria continued their downward trajectory, dropping below pre-COVID-19 volume sales levels of 2019. During the pandemic, cigarette consumption had seen a temporary boost due to increased consumption…

With Turkey continuing to see elevated inflation in 2024, consumers continue show a more cautious attitude towards consumption. As such, consumers are postponing purchases of non-essential products, such as sunglasses, which is resulting in a decline…

Sunglasses in Sweden is one of the most dynamic categories in eyewear. Since the post-pandemic boom in sales, volume growth slowed in 2022 and 2023, but momentum is building in 2024. The strong premiumisation trend coupled with inflation continues to…

Overall growth in spectacles is set to remain steady if moderate in retail volume terms throughout 2024 fuelled by rising demand for progressive lenses. Demand for progressive spectacle lenses is being driven by Turkey’s ageing population, coupled…

Spectacles in Sweden continues to display solid retail volume and current value growth boosted by rising unit prices and inflation. The ageing population along with lifestyle changes, such as greater exposure to digital screens, is boosting demand…

In 2023, homewares in Germany only witnessed marginal current value sales growth. However, this was largely driven by inflation and price increases. Slowing demand was driven by high consumer price inflation and poor economic growth in the country,…

In 2023, value sales of home improvement in Germany witnessed a decline, in line with the contraction in new home construction projects and persistently high lending rates along with elevated raw material costs in the building trade, driving a…

In 2023, home furnishings in Germany witnessed a significant contraction of value sales, driven by adverse macroeconomic conditions. The country’s GDP declined in 2023, and geopolitical tensions, such as the war in Ukraine, continued to fuel…

In 2023, value sales of home and garden in Germany declined compared to the previous year, driven by a combination of adverse macroeconomic factors and pressures on consumers’ disposable incomes due to inflation. The number of new construction…