Consumers are forced to spend less and less

Households are constantly cutting down their purchases in order to make ends meet due to salary and pension cuts, and the ever-growing tax burden, a recent survey has shown.

According to the study by the Marketing Laboratory of the Athens University of Economics and Business, consumers are spending almost 40 euros less a month at supermarkets this year compared to 2016.

Average monthly household expenditure comes to 274 euros against 310 euros a year earlier, with the 13 percent decline also reflected on supermarket turnover.

The study’s findings illustrate the impoverishment of so-called “average consumers” who constitute the largest group and are the retail commerce industry’s main target.

The sight of an overflowing supermarket trolley is rare these days, with 63.4 percent of Greeks saying they purchase fewer products and 45.8 percent saying they only buy the absolutely necessities. More than half of consumers (54.4 percent) buy cheaper primarily by bargain hunting or getting private-label products carried by chains.

Data from Nielsen researchers, meanwhile, showed that in 2016, 51 percent of brand products sold in supermarket were on special offer, up from 33.1 percent in 2009.