What is the state for consumption in France in 2024?
David Lecomte: In 2023, grocery retailers’s sales dropped by 1% in volume but grew 9.1% in value. Cumulatively to date at P10 (January-October period), grocery retailers (supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience store, food discounters and drive-through) are up 0.2% in volume and up 0.3% in value. Hypermarkets and supermarkets lose sales, particularly hypermarkets over 7,500 sq.m (-3.2% in value and -3.6% in volume). E-commerce (drive-through, excluding pure-players, Editor’s note) is the big winner. Sales grew by 6.2% in volume and by 7.3% in value. Finally, convenience stores are holding up well, up by 2.1% in volume and by 2.5% in value. Although convenient stores were driven by the Olympics, notably in Paris, they were already buoyant in H1. This format is benefiting from expansion and from shoppers’ switching budgets. Buying sushi in a local “mom and pop” supermarket is always going to be cheaper than in a Japanese restaurant.
How has households’ behaviour changed?
David Lecomte: Prices have been falling in supermarkets since June. However, despite deflation, consumers are still making firm budgetary choices, even if less marked than in 2023. We can measure this by the in-store traffic recorded, because people go shopping more frequently when a budget is limited, and also by the number of baskets. Over the period January-October 2023, traffic was up by 5.9% and the number of baskets down by 6.8%. At P10 2024, in-store traffic is up by 0.5% and the number of baskets is down by 1%. They also buy products at lower prices. This is reflected in the dynamic growth of private labels, which are taking market share from national brands. We can also have a look at the most popular product categories, which over the 10-month period were the most basic and least expensive (like pasta, rice, mashed potatoes or ham).
