Deloitte has published its 24th edition of Global Powers of Retailing. The report identifies the 250 largest retailers around the world based on publicly available data for FY2019 (fiscal years ended through 30 June 2020), and analyzes their performance across geographies and product sectors. It also provides a global economic outlook, looks at the 50 fastest-growing retailers, and highlights new entrants to the Top 250. It shows the impact of COVID-19 on leading global retailers.
The COVID-19 health crisis has turned consumer behaviour upside down. According to a YouGov study, conducted among 18.000 respondents in 17 countries around the world in December 2020, the purchasing habits of citizens have changed. On this point, Mexico occupies first place with 83% of respondents who indicate having changed their habits due to the pandemic.
Regarding product categories, the health crisis has greatly encouraged the consumption of fruit & vegetables. Globally, 38% say they have eaten more fruit and vegetables since the start of the crisis. In addition, 29% of the world population confides having consumed more frozen products. Alcohol has also seen an increase in consumption: + 19% worldwide. On the other hand, purchases of cosmetic products decreased: -27% of the total number of respondents.
In general, it appears that consumers want to give more importance to sustainable products. Of the 17 markets surveyed, 54% agree that they will buy more such products when the pandemic ends. Three out of five consumers (60% of respondents) say they want to support local businesses and producers.
In terms of distribution channels, if consumers want to use online shopping services, there are significant differences between countries: 26% of the French and German consumers want to use these services more against 64% of the Chinese and 36 % the Spanish. (Source: LSA)