The stay-at-home and work-from-home culture means more people are spending time indulging in cooking, and, for those who can afford it, are opting for premium products and ingredients.
This is according to the latest Markets Dashboard – FMCG in Western Economies report from IRI, which highlights the impact of Covid-19 on the FMCG and retail industry in key European markets and the US.
With less dining out and socialising due to Covid restrictions in many countries, including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, people are spending more time at home cooking from scratch, driving demand for healthy food, treats and cooking ingredients. In the UK, flour and bread-making sales are up 41.9% and chilled pastry sales up 35.2%, while in Italy sales of prepared vegetables are up 76.6% (IRI: % value change, 5 weeks to 26 Sept 2020).
However, working from home has had the opposite effect on cosmetics sales, presumably because video calls only require the minimum amount of make-up! Cosmetics products are in the bottom five categories in France (-13.3%), Italy (-16.1%) and Spain (face make-up -40.1%, lipstick -59.4%) while in the Netherlands, razor blade sales are down 17.9%
Shoppers continue to focus on hygiene and safety during the pandemic, driving sanitary and cleaning product sales in the non-food category. Cleaners, disinfectants and gels appear in the top five categories across nearly all markets, with notable increases in Spain where soap (without water) products are up 2,828.3% and Greece where antibacterial gel is up 2,214.9%.
Joan Driggs, VP of Content and Thought Leadership at IRI commented: “As most of us settle into a second period of lockdown across Europe, we can expect to spend more time eating, working and cooking at home. Those who can afford to indulge are opting for premium products, perhaps to treat themselves after a difficult year or because they are spending less on dining out. Demand for home cooking ingredients is high and we expect there to be plenty of festive cooking as people celebrate Christmas at home.
“This is a real opportunity for retailers and brands to push indulgent treats and premium festive products in the next few weeks as shoppers make their lists and put their orders in online. Price, however, remains important as unemployment rises in Europe and shoppers are more cautious of spending, so we may see further promotional activity and growth in private label products.”
NAM Implications:
- Key to compare your sales by category and geography with these reference points.
- Then focus on over-trading for reasons why…
- …and try to apply learnings where under-trading.
