Conclusions

What the future of retail in FMCG will look like

Last year we introduced the concept of Liquid Retail, the latest phase in FMCG where the landscape is constantly shifting and the lines between in-home, OOH, ecommerce and home delivery are increasingly blurred.

2020 demonstrated the relevance of this concept with home delivery players, like Uber Eats, Deliveroo or Glovo, now venturing into grocery delivery, ecommerce accelerated at twice the pace of previous years, and bricks-and-mortar retailers reinvented their offer with a renewed focus on omnichannel.

The rapid rate of change will continue, but no one knows what the magnitude of these will be. However, three factors will dictate the future:

What will the level of unemployment be?The number of people working remains the big unknown linked to economic rebound and will significantly impact shopping behaviour.

How much will we stay at home?Even when the hospitality trade can re-open, the amount we remain working from home will continue impacting the OOH sector, the growth of ecommerce and category choices.Online will continue to gain share from the other channels and hit over 8% of global FMCG spend. Scaling your ecommerce efforts in line with the markets and cities where online is now significant is critical for success.Categories related to hygiene and cooking will continue to grow while the Beauty sector will recover in line with face-to-face socialising recommencing.

Will we continue to use Home Meal Delivery at the same rate as we did during 2020?The initial signs from last year during periods when restaurants re-opened indicate this will continue to grow and change the competitive landscape for retailers.It is more vital than ever for food and drinks manufacturers to understand the In-and-Out performance, including the burgeoning home meal delivery channel.Our forecast predicts In-Home FMCG growth will slow to between 2.2% and 5.2% in 2021. Not the 10% growth observed in 2020 but still a good year for the industry.

Watch the webinar with
the main findings of this report

How can
we help?

Full
landscaping

42 markets

3 years data update December 2020 with sales evolution, share, penetration, spend per trip, frequency, loyalty rate, private label shares by channel

Monthly
performance tracking

FMCG and channel shares

Global view with Top markets aggregated

FMCG and retail
structure forecast

37 markets

Growth scenarios dependent on different COVID-19 restrictions