[Inflation Barometer] Despite inflation stabilising in 2024, European retail is still being penalised by prices that are too high

In 2024, inflation reached a moderate level of +2.4% in both the Eurozone and the U.S.A. In the long term, the gap in terms of consumption is real: over 3 years, food inflation reached +25% in Europe compared with +15% in the USA. This price uplift is penalising the retail sector in France and Germany. In the USA, however, the retail sector is in good health.

Through Sophie Baqué, Rudy Degardin. Published on 07 February 2025 à 12h53 - Update on 24 July 2025 à 10h59

mind Retail presents a review of macro-economic indicators for 2024, based on data from Eurostat, the US Census Bureau and the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics.

Eurozone: consumer prices up 15% over 3 years, food up 25%

Eurozone inflation: the HICP (Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices) rose by 2.4% between December 2023 and December 2024, a level that has been broadly stable for 12 months. Food prices in particular rose by 1.9%. However, long term inflation remains high, and this is how European consumers perceive it. Over a rolling 3-year period, the total HICP is up by 15.1% in the Eurozone. Food products jumped by 25.4%.

What impact does this have on European retail? Expressed in volume terms, total retail sales improved slightly in the Eurozone in 2024. Between the end of 2023 and November 2024 (the latest data available),…

Sophie Baqué, Rudy Degardin