Ghana awaits bounceback of the FMCG sector after COVID

Consumer confidence is growing dramatically in Ghana, but the immediate rebound for FMCG could be held back by higher prices, encouraging the shift to value-for-money brands in 2021.

Stockpiling during lockdown helped drive dramatic growth for FMCG in 2020 as heavier basket sizes and more purchase occasions drove sales particularly in Food. Annual volume growth hit 28% for FMCG across the country.

The scale of stockpiling was seen in March 2020, when FMCG volumes grew by 18.9%, but performance declined in the final quarter of the year as concerns about inflation led to reductions in purchases.

The extent of the belt-tightening can be seen particularly among socio-economic classification (SEC) DE, where volume growth dropped by 6.2% in the final quarter of the year, well below the country average of 5%. The one exception was in the Accra/Tema region, which saw growth of 1.2%, helped by out-performance among DE shoppers.

Across the year, Beverage showed the biggest rise (up 34% and including a 0.1 rise in Q4), followed by Food (28%) and Personal Care (25%). Grocers and local stores were the key source of growth – up 29.5% by volume – as consumers set out to minimise time in crowded areas. By contrast, kiosk sales grew by 2.6% across the year but also took the biggest hit in the final quarter, down 27.2%.

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