Life in the Сovid-19 era: the results of 2020 and trends that will determine the lives of consumers in 2021

mayo 4, 2021

GfK Russia updated the impact of Covid-19 on consumer sentiment at our joint webinar. Many thanks to Svetlana Guryeva, Senior Consultant of the Consumer Panel Department of GfK Russia for the presentation!

5 key takeaways:

• In 2020, the FMCG market of Russia showed growth (+ 4.8% in value), despite the decline in customers’ income. The main trend is to buy less, but more at a time. The main factor behind the growth of the FMCG market was the size of the spend (+ 9.3%), while the frequency of purchases decreased (-4.1%).
• Purchasing behavior has undergone changes, in particular, it has led to an increase in private label sales, which will continue, as at the moment it is one of the most popular saving strategies among buyers.
• Convenience stores and the e-Commerce channel have been actively developing during the period of self-isolation. New growing channels received a significant share and opportunities for further expansion in the market. As a result, 23% of consumers began to order goods online more often during quarantine, and 32% announced their intention to continue to do so after quarantine.
• Promo will not lose its relevance, as this is another of the key saving strategies. The share of promo will continue to grow.
• Two needs will remain popular with buyers: pamper yourself and loved ones and healthy lifestyle. With respect to this point, the products that are at the junction of these two needs will have great potential.

So, in summary, the five key trends that have arisen out of COVID-19 are larger basket size; increased demand for private labels; channel shift to convenience and on-line; reliance on promotions for bigger savings and pamper and healthy lifestyle products.

You can hear a more detailed discussion of FMCG consumer trends in the recording of Svetlana’s presentation (in Russian).