Greek consumers make fresh cuts in supermarket shopping
Even relatively inflexible supermarket spending has been affected by the prolonged uncertainty regarding the Greek economy, as data compiled by market research company IRI show that the value of supermarket sales in Greece posted a monthly decline of 3.6 percent in April from the same month last year, against a 1.1 percent increase in April 2014 compared with a year earlier.
It was the second month in a row that supermarket sales had posted a slump, with the first significant decline being observed in March, amounting to 5.2 percent on an annual basis. Growth figures had been recorded in the year’s first couple of months.
The decline in sales during March and April offset the gains recorded in January and February, resulting in a year-on-year decline of 1.7 percent in turnover for the January-April period, while sales volume dropped 1.6 percent.
While the same period last year had seen a 1.8 percent decline in turnover over the previous 12 months, this was mostly because of the fall in prices, as the sales volume had posted an increase of 0.8 percent from the year before. Even in 2013, a year dominated by a significant drop in consumption, the turnover at supermarkets had contracted by 3.5 percent from 2012, but the sales volume had only posted a marginal decline of 0.1 percent.
IRI figures show that sales at supermarkets declined in all three basic categories of commodities in the first four months of 2015. Homeware goods fell 3.3 percent from the same period in 2014, personal care, hygiene and beauty products declined 3.6 percent, and even food contracted 1 percent year-on-year.
Out of the 11 product domains there was an increase in just three: Frozen food added 9.7 percent, snacks gained 3 percent and packaged food climbed 2.4 percent. All other areas posted a significant contraction in sales, led by kitchen utensils (down 6 percent) and personal hygiene and beauty products (down 5 percent). Crucially, in the dairy sector, which accounts from more than a sixth of all products (17.1 percent), there was a 4.3 percent decline in sales at supermarkets.
