Impact COVID-19 had on consumption in 2020 and beyond

As we enter 2021, in some regions it feels like being back at the beginning of the pandemic, whilst in others there are barely any restrictions. We’ve gathered ten insights revisiting some of the important trends we discussed early on: we take a look at the impact of FMCG growth across the world; the acceleration of ecommerce by region; which sectors, categories, manufacturers and brands did best; and how the pandemic has impacted real purchasing behaviour.

Some insights showing how COVID-19 influenced our behaviour in 2020 and how we think it will impact in 2021:

• FMCG growth is set to reach 10% by the end of Q1 2021. It is unlikely we are ever going to see double-digit take-home FMCG growth again.

• Ecommerce share of FMCG is set to reach 12% by the end of Q1: that’s the equivalent of two years share growth in one year. However, looking specifically at Europe, ecommerce is set to reach 9% share of FMCG sales, making it the most accelerated retail trend of the year.

• The Health & Beauty sector has gone from the fastest growing (in 2019) to the slowest during the pandemic. The opposite is true for the Food sector (not including food for consumption Out-of-Home).

• Everywhere, people shopped less and bought more per trip. Europe again saw the most dramatic changes in shopping behaviour.