Portuguese consumers made more visits to supermarkets since the start of 2021, but the value and size of the shopping basket has decreased compared to 2020.
A market analysis by Kantar for Centromarca shows that Portuguese consumers made three more shopping trips during the second lockdown (starting on 15 January 2021) compared to the first lockdown (2 March to 31 December 2020).
Shopping Basket
However, the value of the shopping basket fell by 13.5%, from €27 during the first lockdown to the current €23. Prior to the pandemic the average value of the shopping basket was around €20.
During the reference period, the average daily number of grocery shoppers increased by 20%, with the busiest day being 12 March. Elsewhere, on Easter weekend, shops also saw a strong throughput of shoppers.
Fresh products accounted for 27% of shopping baskets on average, while private label products accounted for almost 39% of the total amount spent during the lockdown.
In 2021, 20% of consumers purchased FMCG online at least once, an increase of 148,000 households compared to the first lockdown.
Lockdown Measures
The director general of Centromarca, Pedro Pimentel, has called on the repealing of some measures that continue to affect the market. They include the prohibition of selling alcoholic drinks after 20:00, reduced opening hours at weekends and the ratio of five people per 100 square metres.
According to him, these measures “made sense at a given time”, but with the end of the lockdown “they no longer make sense”. [Pic: ©Radub85/123RF.COM]
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
