European grocery market grows at fastest rate for three years | Progresiv
The amount consumers across Europe spent on everyday items, such as food, drinks and toiletries, rose by 3.7% in the second quarter of 2017 – the highest level for three years. 
Data released today by Nielsen shows that in 21 European countries there was a 2% year-on-year increase in the prices shoppers paid and a 1.7% rise in the volume of items that they bought.
Turkey had the highest year-on-year growth in takings at the tills (+14.2%), followed by Slovakia (+9.3%) and Austria (+6.7%). In contrast, Switzerland (-0.7%), Denmark (+1.2%) and Greece (+1.9%) saw the smallest growth.
Italy’s growth rate (+4.0%) was the highest among the big five western European markets, followed by France (+3.2%). Germany had the lowest growth among this group (+2.3%), and the fifth lowest among all 21 countries.
Nielsen senior vice president of retailer services Europe Olivier Deschamps said: “This more buoyant FMCG market across Europe is a reflection of four key factors: improving economic conditions, particularly in the likes of France and Spain; falling unemployment in a number of countries; consumer confidence rising to its highest level in years; as well as inflation remaining under control. The timing of Easter also played a bit-part role but the dashboards are all green at the moment.
“With GDP growth across Europe projected to remain at around 1¾ per cent in 2017 and, assuming no major political or economic shocks over the next six months, the outlook for the grocery market for the rest of year is a continuation of Southern Europe’s sales recovery and Northern Europe’s volume growth.” (www.foodbev.com)
