FMCG in 2023: Between rational shopping and emotional messaging

Inflation 2023: Of coping and cutting

As of March 2022, the past year saw soaring prices and an inflation rate reaching more than 10% on average across Europe. In December 2022, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its inflation projections for the euro zone to 6.3% in 2023. Prices – from energy to FMCG – will continue to increase for at least another two years, though the rate is expected to slow down in 2024.

As a result, shoppers will continue to be confronted with higher prices and budget squeezes in 2023 and will be forced to constantly adjust their household spend. This whitepaper takes a closer look at latest consumer sentiments, and resulting intentions and motivations for the near future: How will shoppers cope? If they need to cut their FMCG expenditures, which categories, brands and products will be losing out – and what are the implications for manufacturers and retail?

The findings shared in this whitepaper primarily originate from GfK’s Consumer Panel, enhanced by individual market research of GfK Why2Buy surveys, analyzing the shoppers’ perspective, motivations and lifestyle needs through registered purchases representing a market of 174 million households in 14 countries. 

In addition, GfK conducted two surveys on Behavior Change in April and most recently in November 2022, which included 15 countries – seven in Western Europe, eight in Central and Eastern Europe – and 7,855 respectively 9,634 shoppers.

Insights into country differences and similarities in Europe are shared by GfK experts from Denmark and Sweden, Germany, Romania and Ukraine.