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GfK: fast-moving consumer goods market advanced 3.4 percent last year from 2015
Romania's fast-moving consumer goods market (FMCG) advanced 3.4 percent last year from 2015, with Romanians displaying an increased appetite for more expensive products, reveals a recent study conducted by research company GFK.
"The year 2016 was another good year for the FMCG industry as far as both retailers and producers were concerned. It was the second consecutive year when Romanians displayed an increased appetite for more expensive products and higher expenses. The FMCG market rose by 3.4% in value from 2015," says GFK.
Supporting the growth was a 3-percent increase in volumes purchased, as well as up-trading, whereby consumers went for premium products in terms of price.
"Unlike the previous year, uptrading was visible both in modern as well as in traditional commerce. This led to an increase by one percentage point in premium brands nationwide to the detriment of other price categories," the study shows.
Romanians are buying fewer fast-moving consumer goods, but they are spending more per purchase. A drop in shopping frequency was visible as far as fresh food was concerned, while the frequency of shopping for home care products increased.
Two thirds of the spending goes to food, the study shows.
"Among the fast-moving consumer goods, food continued to dominate the spending of Romanians, cumulating 66 percent of the total. The highest growth rates were recorded by home care products, beverages and personal care products. However, by the size of the segment categories, fresh food and beverages contributed the most to the increase in the FMCG market. Among the categories that recorded increases in 2016 are seafood and fish, frozen foods, exotic fruits (avocados, pomegranates etc. ), cider, and champagne, " according to the study.
Modern trade covers 57 percent of the total FMCG market in Romania. In 2016, modern retailers gained 2 percentage points against 2015. Supermarket and discount formats contributed the most to the growth in modern trade, advancing one half of a percentage point each.
The increase in the new formats is the result of increasingly more buyers being won over and rising shopping frequency. Despite constant development in 2016 in terms of market share, hypermarkets remained the most important modern trade channel, having provided a nationwide aggregate of more than one quarter of the total FMCG sales for home consumption.
Compared with other years, retailers' market concentration slowed down in 2016. The aggregate market share of the 10 most important retail traders advanced by only 1 percentage point as against three in 2015.
Among the most active retailers in terms of market share growth were Lidl and Profi. Traditional trade had a negative development in 2016, as it declined 2 percentage points on a falling frequency in shopping at traditional trade stores.
The study anticipates a slower growth in Romania's FMGC market, as 2017 is expected to witness inflation following tax incentives and cuts in the Value-Added Taxes (VAT) in 2015 and 2016.