Lisbon, April 8, 2025 (Lusa) - Food retail sales in Portugal grew in 2024 for the first time in three years, in the order of 3.5%, in a comparator adjusted for inflation, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The State of Grocery Retail 2025: Europe, published today by McKinsey & Company and EuroCommerce, analyses the retail sector in 2024 and records that Portugal has seen a rise of 3.5% compared to 2023.
The increase was driven by inflation (2.4%) and the choice of more expensive products (2.3%), despite a 1.2% reduction in sales volume.
In real terms, sales grew for the first time in three years, with a rise of 1.1%, "although they remain 2.1% below 2019 levels" (before the Covid-19 pandemic).
In Europe, meanwhile, in 2024, prices in the food retail sector grew for the first time in real terms since 2020.
Compared to 2019, the last full year before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains, revenues in Europe grew by 26.3%.
Adjusted for inflation, sales are still 4.1% lower than in 2019.
The authors of the report note that 2024 "was a challenging year for European retailers" and that economic pressure continued, "leading to cautious consumer behaviour and widespread spending containment".
In the same vein, discount shops and own brands continued to gain market share, but at a slower pace than in 2023.
The document was drawn up on the basis of interviews with four CEOs in the sector and surveys with more than 30 European business leaders and more than 14,000 consumers in 13 European countries.
The forecast for 2025 is that growth in volume will ‘remain low’, and will continue to do so until 2030.
The focus of food retailers is likely to shift to capturing growth opportunities and laying the foundations for future advances, with company leaders in the sector more optimistic than a year ago.
By 2025, it is expected that there will be an increase in the differentiation of own brands (which should gain more market share), demand for healthy food and personalisation as a new standard of customer relations, particularly with the use of artificial intelligence.
JO/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
