Read the latest reports on Western Europe, with local insight, sp...
Read the latest reports on Western Europe, with local insight, specialist knowledge and a comprehensive breakdown of key market data. Our research identifies key strategic themes relevant across the region, while also providing a more granular unders...
Retail in Sweden continued to be affected by the challenging Swedish macroeconomic environment in 2023, characterised by negative real GDP growth and high inflation rates. The high inflationary pressure on prices especially affected groceries, but…
In 2023, retail in Germany displayed resilience amid challenging economic conditions, with varying performances across different channels. While inflationary pressures continued to influence consumer spending patterns, a gradual stabilisation in the…
Retail e-commerce in Sweden, after almost a decade of double-digit retail current value growth, peaking over 2019-2021, witnessed stabilisation or correction towards the end of the review period. Following a small drop in 2022, retail e-commerce…
In 2023, Germany's e-commerce landscape showed signs of potential recovery, following 2022’s sales slump as the country emerged from the pandemic. A stronger return to stores, ongoing economic volatility, and low consumer confidence stemming from the…
Like other types of grocery retailers, hypermarkets in Sweden were impacted directly by historically high inflation, which reached high single-digit rates in 2022 and 2023. As a result, consumers became more price-sensitive and they started to look…
The economic slowdown in 2023 somewhat undermined the performance of hypermarkets in Germany, as the format is highly dependent on non-grocery purchases often considered by consumers as discretionary spending. This adds to the longer-term challenges…
Home products specialists in Sweden were impacted by the lowered rates of new construction, which started to decrease in 2022. In 2023, the rate of new construction reached its lowest point since 2011, with only 25,500 new houses starting…
In 2023, value sales of home products specialists in Germany experienced a marginal downturn following a particularly strong performance the previous year. This channel, which includes home improvement and gardening stores, homewares and home…
Pharmacy chains Apotek Hjärtat (ICA Sverige) and Apoteket (Apoteket AB) continued to lead health and beauty specialists in Sweden, accounting for slightly more than one half of retail value shares in 2023. Kronans Apotek (Oriola AB) was the only…
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,…
Within general merchandise stores in Sweden, similar to discounters in grocery retailers, variety stores’ positioning engendered robustness despite the difficult and unpredictable geopolitical and economic times. The main focus of the key players in…
Value sales of general merchandise stores in Germany rebounded in 2023, following the previous year’s decline. The latter was driven by department stores, with the channel’s sales falling by double digits due to temporary store closures. Although the…
Discounters in Sweden recorded the fastest retail current value growth among grocery retailers in 2023. The lower-cost grocery retail format was able to derive benefits from the slowdown in the Swedish economy connected to unstable geopolitical…
In a macroeconomic environment marked by stagnation and low consumer confidence, in combination with historically high inflation rates, especially for food and drinks, discounters in Germany significantly outperformed all other grocery channels in…
Following marginal decreases in retail current value sales in 2021 and 2022, direct selling in Sweden faced another difficult year in 2023. While retail current value sales rose slightly, this was due to high inflationary pressure on prices. At…
In 2023, direct selling in Germany continued on its growth trajectory, albeit at a steadier pace compared to the spike during the pandemic. The channel's success is largely attributed to its effective digital transformation and the adoption of a…
Historically high inflation rates created huge challenges for convenience retailers in Sweden towards the end of the review period. As consumers started to plan their purchases more carefully and show a preference for discounters and large format…
Convenience retailers in Germany recorded a resilient performance in 2023, despite a slowdown compared to the rapid growth witnessed in 2022 when cultural, leisure and professional events, including major trade, resumed at full capacity following…
Appliances and electronics specialists in Sweden was one of the few channels that posted a decrease in retail value sales in 2022 and 2023. This was the case even in current terms, even though the inflation rate reached a high single-digit figure in…
Despite a recovery to pre-pandemic value sales levels in 2022, driven by high inflation and pent-up demand for in-store shopping as mobility restrictions eased, appliances and electronics specialists in Germany returned to decline in 2023. This was…