ASIA Pulse - Q3 2021

FMCG spending across Asia continued to perform strongly through Q3 2021, thanks to more in-home occasions and stockpiling behaviour triggered by the latest wave of COVID-19.

Total FMCG value sales grew by 3.6% compared to the same period last year. Beverages shone brightly as the fastest growing sector, recovering rapidly with a 5.3% increase in value, mainly driven by the Chinese Mainland market.

Nutritional and hygiene categories are still benefiting from the pandemic, with value sales in Dairy and Personal Care rising by 3.1% and 4.2% respectively. Meanwhile, Food and Home Care slowed down following their peak in 2020.

Convenient channel formats – especially ecommerce – continue to perform well, leading growth in the APAC region with a double-digit increase in transactions. 

Reviewing the performance of each market in depth, the report reveals some key insights:

• Chinese Mainland: Instant retail (O2O) has maintained a strong growth trend since 2020, with 57% of urban households using O2O home delivery services to purchase FMCG in the first nine months of this year.
• Taiwan: Taiwanese shoppers have become more used to purchasing FMCG products online, across all categories and age groups. 
• South Korea: In-home beverage consumption is likely to decrease in the coming months as COVID-19 restrictions ease.
• Indonesia: Despite a slowdown, Food and Dairy continue to lead the market’s total FMCG growth.
• Malaysia: All sectors continue to record growth except Beverages, due to the implementation of a national lockdown in 2021.
• Thailand: Consumers keep reducing their shopping trips, with larger basket sizes a result of stockpiling during the pandemic.
• The Philippines: Households continue to value traditional trade and proximity stores over other channels.
• Vietnam: The level of FMCG spending remains higher than before the pandemic, driven by another peak in the purchasing of packaged foods during periods of lockdown in the country’s fourth wave of COVID-19.