Western Europe

Smal local grocers continued to suffer from fierce competition from other retailers in 2023, including larger format grocery retailers, but especially discounters. Despite this, small local grocers maintained a positive growth trajectory in current…

Small local grocers in Finland remained the smallest grocery retail channel in Finland in 2023. Its significance within grocery retailers has been on a slow decline for a long time, although there was a slight increase in value sales in 2022/2023 due…

Value sales of RX/reimbursement adult incontinence products registered moderate growth in 2023. For many people who are embarrassed about incontinence issues, there is a preference to buy incontinence products online, despite insurance reimbursement…

Rx/reimbursement adult incontinence remained in a slump in Italy in 2023, as the government continues to reduce its spending in the healthcare system. In 2024, public expenditure in hospitals and so-called “Community Health Houses” will be further…

In 2023, retail value sales of retail tissue in the Netherlands experienced solid growth. However, declining disposable incomes are leading some consumers to decrease their usage of toilet paper. Adjustments in their purchasing behaviour have…

Value sales in retail tissue were supported by inflationary pressures surrounding the paper industry in Italy in 2023. The paper industry is highly energy intensive, including in terms of water volumes used, thus costs have skyrocket for…

Retail tissue in Ireland witnessed a second year of high current value growth in 2023, underpinned by unit price increases, as well as buoyant demand for tissue products. However, the impact of inflation has subsided in 2023, putting less pressure on…

In 2023, retail tissue in Greece saw a substantial uplift in retail value growth, driven by ongoing inflation. The retail price of tissue products saw significant hikes in 2022, which continued in 2023; the consequence of rising costs of raw…

Despite facing challenges such as escalating prices, retail tissue in Finland exhibited a decline in 2023, with paper towels experiencing a more pronounced decrease compared to toilet paper. The latter, deemed a necessity, demonstrated greater…

High inflation rates continued to negatively affect producers, distributors, and most importantly consumers in 2023, despite inflation being slightly more stable than in the previous year. Indeed, as issues in the supply chain, logistical space, and…

Retail in Finland witnessed positive development in current value terms in 2023, although this was largely underpinned by retail price inflation. Grocery retailers saw a decline after a couple of years of solid growth, while non-grocery retailers…

Retail e-commerce in Italy posted a relatively moderate increase in current value terms in 2023, with growth largely driven by foods, beverages and beauty products. After a steep increase in market penetration of fast moving consumer goods sold…

In 2023, e-commerce in Finland outperformed the overall retail category by a greater margin than in 2022. The move from offline to online continued to impact the sales of offline channels – blurring the boundaries between online and offline through…

Retail value sale of retail adult incontinence products recorded moderate growth in 2023. Rather than buy retail adult incontinence, many consumers often revert to pantyliners or menstrual care products in order to save money. As menstrual care…

Italy’s ageing population continued to support value sales in retail adult incontinence in 2023. Here we also note cross-category trends which focus on wellbeing and helping to enhance the quality of consumers’ lives and their overall holistic…

Retail adult incontinence in Ireland registered solid growth in volume growth in 2023, with both light adult incontinence and heavy/moderate adult incontinence performing well. Rising levels of obesity in Ireland, combined with an ageing and…

In 2023, retail adult incontinence in Greece recorded positive retail value and volume growth, with value sales boosted by rising price points. Unlike other hygiene product categories where the share of private labels is low, this is not the case…

The growing ageing population in Finland acted as a primary catalyst for the volume sales growth of adult incontinence products throughout 2023. Heightened consumer awareness regarding incontinence issues, coupled with proactive educational efforts…

Retail value sales of nappies/diapers/pants recorded moderate growth in 2023. In 2022, a slight increase in the number of babies born led to an increase in sales of nappies/diapers, especially new born and standard, in volume terms. However, this was…

Value growth in nappies/diapers/pants maintained its performance in Italy in 2023, supported by inflationary pressures which have pushed up unit prices. That said, consumers in Italy remain resistant to lowering the quality of the nappies/diapers…