Sweden took a substantially softer approach to COVID-19 restrictions than many other countries. However, advice from Swedish public health agencies and officials was contradictory and often unclear, which resulted in many consumers avoiding retail entirely to ensure their safety. This led to double-digit retail volume and current value declines...
COVID-19 has been the catalyst for a rapid change in consumer behaviour in Thailand, with the pandemic impacting the local economy, the ability for consumers to move freely and restricting entry to the key target audience of inbound tourism. Further waves of COVID-19 hit Thailand in 2021 and subsequently delayed the re-opening of its borders...
Apparel and footwear returned to positive growth in 2021 after an unprecedented decline that wiped out one fifth of the industry’s entire value the previous year. Across the categories, growth rates have improved. While categories such as nightwear registered low growth in 2021 as a result of the lower declines of 2020, others such as men’s...
Apparel and footwear in South Africa suffered tremendously in 2020, primarily due to COVID-19 and government restrictions put into place to curb the spread of the virus. In 2021, the country continued to struggle as a result of the pandemic. South Africa remained on a 5-system alert level throughout the year, which meant operating conditions...
Sales of apparel and footwear were significantly negatively impacted by COVID-19 in 2020, when both current value and volume sales plummeted in response to the pandemic. The temporary closure of non-essential retailers led sales to see a dramatic decline, whilst even on reopening, many consumers were reluctant to visit store-based retailers...
The fashion industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis and received less government support than other industries. The impact has been seen in the form of price increases, the decreasing size of shops and store closures. While sales declined severely at a large number of retailers in 2020, something of a “revenge shopping” attitude was seen...
The emergence of the pandemic in 2020 resulted in the government introducing various measures to control the spread of the virus, including social distancing and limitations on the operations of non-essential retailers, which negatively affected sales of apparel and footwear. Brazil historically suffers from illegal trade, high unemployment...
Following notable declines in 2020 due to the closure of store-based retailers and home seclusion, apparel and footwear in Poland registered a marked improvement in sales in 2021 due to the gradual reopening of the local economy, after pandemic-related lockdowns ended in the May. The start of the first quarter was extremely positive for the...
Apparel and footwear in Nigeria saw a return to growth in 2020 although demand remained weak. A relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions on physical working and social events which had impacted sales in 2020 helped drive demand in 2021, with consumers once again looking for apparel and footwear for both work and social occasions. However, the economy...
The fast-spreading Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continued to limit consumer movement and dampen economic activity in Turkey in 2021. Overall, apparel and footwear continued to be affected by lockdown measures and pressure on disposable incomes due to job losses and general economic uncertainty in Q1 and Q2 2021. Apparel and Footwear...