Supermarket turnover rises 8% in Jan-Aug

Supermarket turnover is estimated to have come to 5.03 billion euros in the first eight months of 2020, about 8% more than the €4.66 billion recorded in the same period last year, according to market researchers IRI.

This huge increase is due to the jump in prices in spring, as in August the sales volume actually declined by 0.2%.

Over three-quarters of that €5.03 billion – i.e. €3.83 billion – concerned packaged products, and only €1.2 billion concerned bulk sales.

Market estimates say that the sector improved in September compared to the same month last year, while the picture so far for October is similar.

The most recent projections by IRI said the year will close with annual growth in supermarket turnover of 7%, followed in 2021 by a decline of 6%, although it is too early to make an accurate estimate at this stage.

Meanwhile there has been a significant reduction in the offers made by supermarket chains, leading to an increase in prices per product.

In the year’s first eight months, sales from offers declined by 3.2 percentage points from last year, with food products in particular seeing a 3.9% drop in turnover from offers.

This resulted in a 0.7% rise in prices in the January-August period year-on-year.

Nevertheless, it is estimated the prolongation of the recession will bring offers to the forefront again, leading to a price war reminiscent of the decade of the financial crisis, in the 2010s.