Eastern Europe

Consumers are facing increased pressure from rising prices as global inflation reaches 7% in 2023. The impact of higher costs of living is felt from top earners in developed markets to struggling households in emerging and developing countries.…

Cities are hubs for spending, with 80% of expenditure expected to be generated by urban areas in 2023. Spending growth in 2023 will, however, be sluggish, as cost of living challenges force consumers to be more conservative in their expenditure. Over…

The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to high inflation and dampening volume sales somewhat. As a result, while overall retail registered a healthy increase in current value sales in 2022, constant value…

Croatians were impacted by rising inflation in 2022 and faced a cost of living crisis similar to many shoppers across Europe. As the economy started to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and rising costs of energy and raw materials…

E-commerce registered double-digit current value growth in 2022, as well as healthy constant value growth, in spite of high inflation. The high inflation was due to the war in Ukraine, which led to soaring energy prices, which in turn led to higher…

E-commerce continued to gain significant value share in 2022 as part of the ongoing development of this category. Many consumers sought out cheaper prices online as the cost of living crisis hit many Croatian households. On balance, Croatia is seeing…

In 2022, though there was healthy growth in current value sales, constant value sales fell. The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to soaring inflation and dampening volume sales. With such economic…

Croatia has largely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the boost in summer tourism supporting sales growth in non-grocery retailing. Tourism is an important part of the local economy, but the pandemic restrictions had stifled visitor numbers…

In 2022, though there was healthy growth in current value sales, constant value sales fell. The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to soaring inflation and dampening volume sales. In addition, there was…

In light of inflationary pressures, consumers have become increasingly discerning and cost-conscious in 2022. Grocery retailers have navigated this more complex climate by implementing various measures to address changing preferences, such as…

In 2022, though there was healthy growth in current value sales, constant value sales remained unchanged. The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to soaring inflation and dampening sales somewhat. That being…

Direct selling exceeded pre-pandemic sales in 2022 as the channel sought to recover from the severe impact of restrictions on selling door-to-door. However, much of the current value growth in 2022 was driven by higher retail prices as inflation took…

Retail e-commerce continued to see more dynamic growth than offline retail in 2022 in current value terms with companies continuing to invest in setting up, expanding and improving their online presence. Local and international retailers have been…

Retail e-commerce in Serbia continued to see dynamic growth in 2022, even outpacing the sharp spike in growth seen in 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19. Retail e-commerce in Serbia has grown considerably since the start of the pandemic, with…

As COVID-19 fears subsided and restrictions were eased some non-grocery retailers saw a boost to sales, but especially those channels related to activities outside the home. For example, with consumers starting to travel home and abroad again there…

New store openings within the modern grocery retailers channel helped fuel growth in current value terms in 2022, albeit the number small local grocers and food/drink/tobacco specialists declined. For example, Delhaize Serbia, the second largest…

Although direct selling saw dynamic growth in current value terms in 2022 this was actually barely above inflation levels. In 2021 direct selling in Serbia started on the path to recovery from the hit it took during the first year of the COVID-19…

Vending was particularly impacted by the emergence of the pandemic in 2020, as the local government introduced various restrictions, including social distancing and lockdowns, to prevent the spread of the virus. Therefore, limited mobility outside of…

Despite increasing maturity, the stronger performance by supermarkets in 2022 was the result of small format stores located in densely populated urban neighbourhoods and in downtown areas of major cities and the perception that these stores are…

Small local grocers generally benefited from the greater focus of consumers on proximity when shopping for groceries during the pandemic. Many of these outlets are located in close proximity to local consumers’ homes and workplaces, while for many,…