Was 2020 really that great for FMCG?
COVID-19 impacted everyone and every industry differently. The way we shopped – particularly for FMCG – changed. Some of the trends we have seen in previous years accelerated, others reversed.
At the start of 2020, we expected a continuation of FMCG growth close to 2.5%. What we ended up with was growth four times higher for in-home grocery purchasing. On the surface, COVID-19 looks to have been positive for FMCG. The reality is that much of this growth was due to out-of-home consumption occasions moving to in-home, and the combined in-and-out view paints a very different picture, with the food and drinks sectors seeing a fall in value. The lack of face-to-face social interactions also impacted Beauty categories negatively, moving them from being the fastest-growing to those in the most significant decline. There were only three big winners in 2020; ecommerce, supermarkets and hygiene products. Some of the trends seen are common across markets, others less so. The question is, which will remain, and which will go? We will share some thoughts and scenarios for how the FMCG landscape will grow going forward, quantifying this from a total FMCG perspective and channel level. This fifth edition of Winning Omnichannel will give you the most comprehensive global view – across 42 markets – of how the dynamics of FMCG and retail transformed in 2020. This paper's findings and insights will help you quantify the impact of COVID-19 and find new growth opportunities in 2021. We want to say a special thanks to Matt Marshall, Director of Global Sales & Innovation at P&G, for sharing his perspective on everything ecommerce. And a big thanks to our partners, GfK, IRI and Intage, for sharing their data and insight to enable such global coverage.
