In 2020, global take-home FMCG value growth quadrupled to 10%, from 2.5% in 2019 – an increase of $220 billion.
Except for Eastern Europe, all regions saw faster growth. The impact of COVID-19 was most pronounced in Latin America, the USA, and Western Europe, all moving from flat or slow growth to double-digit.
FMCG growth in Latin America was driven by consumers adapting rapidly to the new circumstances. With COVID-19 rampant they evolved their shopping habits: they significantly increased consumption of categories they consider relevant to their daily lives, totally abandoning the odd indulgence, and they optimized the time they spent shopping, visiting outlets as little as possible to stock up.
Governments provided support to hard-pressed consumers, particularly the low-income demographics. This injection of economic stabilization funds and social plans allowed hard hit families to provide their households with the essential consumer goods they needed.
Although the end of the year saw some relaxation in mobility restrictions across the region, new habits have not been abandoned. The winning retail channels (Wholesalers and Online shopping platforms) as well as the way we shop (fewer shopping trips) have not returned to pre-pandemic patterns.
The outlook for 2021 will be determined by the uneven pace of vaccination in the region and by the scale of the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic.
Two key factors will have a significant impact on shopping baskets. First, the reduction in government assistance that helped sustain consumption last year and, second, the structural changes to the way people live – the impact of their new home-based lifestyle on what they chose to buy.
The 2020 is a year that shows the speed of shopper adaptation: rapid response to the socio-economic context and health crisis shaping their FMCG purchases at each stage of the pandemic.
