This report contains:
- Summary of UK Performance
- UK update on COVID-19
- The new normal that FMCG retailers and manufacturers expect after COVID-19
- Appendix: Focus on:
- Spain
- Greece
- New Zealand
SUMMARY OF UK PERFORMANCE
- End of the 17th week of the UK lockdown and the FTSE 100 maintains its level since the beginning of July. Hopes are high that the vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford can help fight the immune response
- In the latest week, sales reached £2.33b; £172m higher than the same time last year but down -2.9% on last week
- Sales are +8.0% on the same time last year, but the growth level is down and potentially the beginning of a move back to normality as Food departments growth start to drop
- Of the +8.0% growth in Total Store sales vs year ago, Grocery sales increased +8.9% and Non Food +4.8%
- Of the additional £172m spend in the latest week, this was driven by Grocery +£148m and +£24m in Non Food
- Since the beginning of 2020 and predominantly since the start of COVID-19, UK Retailer sales are £4.541b higher than last year, driven by Ambient (+£1.4b) and BWS (+£1.2b) departments
- BWS, Tobacco, Fresh Meats/Fish, Chocolate Confectionery and Personal Wash feature in the top growing Sub-Categories
- UK Lockdown measures and cooler weather continue to impact the demand for Food to Go categories; Sandwiches, In-Store Deli’s, Water, Ice Cream and Newspapers
- The Convenience channel has benefitted from the changing consumer shopping habits however in the latest data, it accounted for 24.4% of all purchases, an decrease from the previous week
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
End of the 17th week of the UK lockdown and the FTSE 100 maintains its level since the beginning of July. Hopes are high that the vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford can help fight the immune response:
- FTSE 100 performance continues to benefit from the optimism driven by the governments stimulus to maintain the economic recovery.
- The UK economy has "clawed back" about half the fall in output it saw during the peak of the coronavirus lockdown in March and April, according to the Bank of England's chief economist.
- A coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford appears safe and triggers an immune response. Trials involving 1,077 people showed the injection led to them making antibodies and T-cells that can fight coronavirus. The findings are hugely promising, but it is still too soon to know if this is enough to offer protection and larger trials are under way.
Total Market Value Sales – In the latest week, sales reached £2.33b which is £172m higher than last year. Sales are +8.0% on the same time last year, but the growth level is down and potentially the beginning of a move back to normality as Food departments growth start to drop
IRI’s Demand Index sees Bakery and Health & Beauty as the only departments indexing down vs last year in Value sales
Focus on Ambient – Baking Products and Cooking Products have over indexed during COVID-19, whilst Soft Drinks performance has been impacted by the seasonal weather
Top 35 Categories based on Value Change for the Latest Week
