Nielsen Barometer:
- Consumption is on the rise as the pandemic is declared and school closures are announced
- Home and personal hygiene products and food dominate consumption among the Portuguese
- A rush to the stores felt throughout the country
- Preparing the Portuguese larder begins
The second edition of Nielsen's weekly Barometer on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on consumption reveals high growth for Fast Moving Consumer Goods in Hipers+Supers compared to the same period last year (+65% in week 11 - between March 9 and 15). This week, the Portuguese began to prepare their larder and the most essential categories for dealing with this situation were the ones that stood out.
Barometer
Race to stock up on “essential” products”
The Portuguese are more concerned about storing personal hygiene and household products (+95% in week 11 compared to the same week a year earlier) and food products (+91%).
In Personal and Home Hygiene products, it is Toilet Paper that has seen the greatest growth (over 200%) but Tissues, Rolls and Napkins, Clothes and Dishwashing Products, Home Cleaning, Body Hygiene, Diapers/Towels and Health Care also exceed double sales.
As far as Food is concerned, Canned Food and Basic Products remain at the top, with growth of over 200%. Instant Products, Baby Food, Frozen Food and Olive Oil / Condiments and Seasonings also grew very strongly, more than doubling sales in week 11 (growth >100%).
Barometer
Consumer concerns dictate consumption
Nielsen identifies six stages of consumer adaptation to this new reality: proactive Health purchasing, reactive Health management, preparing the pantry, preparing for quarantine, living with restrictions and living under a new normal.
In the week under review (week 11), the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic and announced the closure of all schools. It was also during this week that the European continent became the epicenter of this outbreak.
Portugal thus enters the third of the six stages identified by Nielsen - #3 Pantry Preparation.
Barometer
Preparing for expenditure was a cross-cutting concern throughout the territory
Concern about storage was felt across the country as a whole, with strong growth in all districts (between 59% and 74%).
Notably, there was an increase in the value of sales compared to the same period last year (for week 11) in the districts of Bragança - which stands out with +74% -, Santarém, Guarda, Setúbal, Lisbon, Leiria, Porto and Vila Real.
Barometer
Growth in all types of stores
The growth seen in this week's analysis occurred in all types of stores: Hipers grew by 60%, Large Supers by 75% and Small Supers by 57%, with none standing out so clearly.
“After this real rush to the stores to prepare their pantry, the Portuguese are moving on to a new phase: preparing for life in quarantine. In this new stage, the search for online shopping is becoming more and more evident and some differences in the types of stores chosen may be noticeable. It will also be interesting to see the impact that the announcement of store closures could have on food retail and on Portuguese consumers” purchasing decisions," comments Marta Teotónio Pereira, Senior Client Consultant at Nielsen.
About Nielsen:
Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global data measurement and analysis company that provides the most complete and reliable insight into consumers and markets around the world. Nielsen is divided into two business units. Nielsen Global Media, the truth indicator for media markets, provides the media and advertising industries with unbiased and reliable metrics that create a shared understanding of the industry necessary for markets to function. Nielsen Global Connect provides consumer goods brands and retailers with accurate, actionable information and insights and a complete view of a complex and changing marketplace that companies need to innovate and grow.
Our approach combines original Nielsen data and other sources of information to help global clients understand what is happening now, what will happen in the future and how to act on this knowledge.
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