Similar but different
Across the ‘Big 6’ Western European markets, the average household shops 3 to 4 times per week, spending an average of € 20 per trip. This results in an annual spend of € 3.7k per household on take-home FMCG. This average hides notable differences in shopping behaviours: For example, Households in the UK shop every other day whilst French households shop considerably less often.
These different behaviours have important implications for both retailers and manufacturers in terms of pack sizes, attraction to promotions, basket value and the number of opportunities to feature in a shopping basket.
Some factors driving the variation across countries include:
• Trade structure: In France, hypermarkets account for nearly half of the FMCG market whereas discounters is the main channel in Germany. Retailer landscapes also vary by region within country.
• Local trading laws: The opportunity to shop on Sunday and 24 hours may further support this difference. For example in the UK stores are legally allowed to trade for 6 hours or more (depending on size) on Sundays.
• Demographic profiles: In Western Europe most countries are between 2 and 3 member households, in South America this number increases to between 5 and 6 people.
