The impact of COVID-19 has been less severe in Sweden compared to many other markets, with this being largely due to the government’s decision not to introduce a lockdown. Instead, the country’s strategy has to a large extent been built on voluntary quarantining and social distancing, with virtually all shops remaining open during 2020. Retailing...
Store closures, suppressed incomes and economic uncertainty led to a significant drop in store-based retailing in 2020. Apparel and footwear specialist retailers recorded the highest decline as customers worked from home and attended fewer social events. Retailing in Czech Republic report offers insight into key trends and developments...
France’s retailing industry experienced numerous major challenges during 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in numerous fundamental changes to consumer behaviour. However, it should be noted that the difficulties faced across the industry during 2020 were not as severe as what was seen in travel and tourism and consumer foodservice, among...
Since there was no strict lockdown due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), most retailers were not negatively impacted by mandated closures. From 13 March 2020, closures only concerned businesses with physical contact, such as dentists, hairdressers, physiotherapists, massages, swimming pools, restaurants and schools. Reopening gradually began from...
The government’s announcement of a lockdown from 16 March in an attempt control the spread of COVID-19 in Austria included the closure of non-essential retailers and foodservice, while essential services including grocery retailers, chemists/pharmacies, petrol stations and pet shops and superstores were permitted to remain open with social...
The impact of COVID-19 began to be felt in Belarus in mid-March. The authorities in Belarus did not introduce a lockdown or movement restrictions. However, many Belarusians chose to self-isolate and some chose to work remotely from home. Belarusians who work in tourism and in foodservice were the first to feel the effect of the pandemic. Some...
Philippines’ quarantine period started in March 2020 and lasted for several months after, making it one of the longest lockdowns globally. During this time, only essential retailers such as grocery retailers and drugstores/parapharmacies for example were allowed to remain open, although with shortened operating hours. The government also implemented...
The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the Thai retailing market, with almost all channels seeing sales fall in 2020, particularly in the second quarter of the year during which the government imposed a lockdown over March-May. Store-based non-grocery retailing channels were amongst those hit hardest by the pandemic and measures imposed...
COVID-19 created significant challenges for retailing in New Zealand in 2020. The alert level four lockdown between April and May halted in-store trading for non-essential retail businesses, leading to long term changes as consumers started purchasing online and retailers worked on building digital capabilities. Retailing in New Zealand...
The COVID-19 pandemic has had multiple impacts on retailing in Peru. The sharp contraction of the economy as a result of the crisis has made consumers more cautious, prioritizing essential goods and limiting expenditure on non-essential products. As whole, the retailing industry saw a sharp contraction as a result of this, with government...