Map of the month: Forecasted stationary retail turnover, Europe 2017
Europe's largest and most developed economies offer fruitful conditions for retailers, but they can also be fiercely competitive, and in some cases, are near saturation. Results from GfK's recently released European Retail Study bear this out: As a general rule, the greatest growth in brick-and-mortar retail turnover for 2017 is forecasted for mid-sized European markets, such as the Ukraine (+12.3%), Romania (+9.8%), Norway (+6.2%), Hungary (+5.7%), Estonia (+5.5%), and Poland (+5.3%). By contrast, projected growth for the larger economies such as Germany (+1.0%), Italy (+1.2%), France (+2.0%), and Spain (+2.9%) is much more modest. These insights help retailers pinpoint new opportunities for expanding their market share. GfK's Map of the Month for July illustrates these forecasted 2017 growth rates for retail turnover in Europe.