NIQ Retail Spend Barometer
France
Q3 2024: Wide disparities in French spending
- Sharp drop on Technical & Durable Goods (T&D) spendings, down by -6.1%
- Limited recovery in FMCG spendings, up +0.5%
- Deflation, impact of Olympic Games and poor summer weather explain disparities
FMCG: in-between Olympic Games effect and weather impact
French consumer spendings are back on the rise in Q3 2024: +0.5% in revenue (44.2 billion euros). This is a quite modest growth but still encouraging given the deflationary context and volumes still at half-mast.
Snacks purchases (+2.5%) were particularly boosted by promotional sales in Confectionery and Breakfast categories. On the other hand, Beverage sales, which are highly sensitive to weather conditions, fell by -4%. Lastly, Descrozailles law continued to have an impact, particularly on Baby Products sales, which fell by -8.8%.
T&D: SDA and Gardening regain some color
Household Equipment markets continued to shrink by -2.7% in Q3 2024, with sales of Do-it-Yourself products down by -5%.
The only exceptions are Small Household Appliances, up +8.9%, driven by air fryers and vacuum cleaners, Furnishings/Decoration, up +2.8%, and Garden (+4.9%) boosted by the excellent performance of high-pressure cleaners (+38.7%) and lawnmowers (+20.9%).
“While the Olympic period boosted consumption of FLS FMCGs (aperitifs, chilled products, beverages) and technological products (TVs), the parenthesis has closed on certain products, both FMCG and technical goods. Despite ongoing deflation, the French were able to reduce their spending in the third quarter. The performance of private labels is an indicator that we will have to watch closely.”
Vincent Cornu, Director Retail Services France NielsenIQ – GfK