In 2024, the retail sector has undergone a major cycle of concentration and a quest for greater efficiency. On the consumer side, trade-offs were less marked than in 2023, but are continuing. Although supermarket prices have been falling since June, they remain high on a face value basis. Over a rolling 3-year period to the end of June 2024, prices were up 22% in France, 30% in Germany, 26.5% in the Eurozone and 19% in the U.S.A.
In 2024, financing strategies were heavily influenced by the...