Sales of dairy products online in Russia increased by 177% in 2020 – Nielsen
Experts note that the volume of purchases decreased in all quarters except the first, and the growth of the market since the beginning of the pandemic was provided solely by an increase in average prices.
For example, in the five largest countries in Western Europe, the long-term closure of restaurants and cafes led to an increase in the FMCG market from 1% to 7%. However, the Russian lockdown factor only worked for a few months and showed a weaker trend.
The market for food categories grew by + 3.5% (+4.3% in 2019).
The demand for spices and cooking oils increased significantly — from 1.5% to 9.4% in monetary terms. The only category that managed to increase sales after the decline in the lockdown period (April-May) and reach an accelerated growth rate is soft drinks.
The FMCG online trading market grew by 102%.
This was facilitated by an acceleration in food sales (+118%), which managed to maintain an increased pace even after the lockdown. Nevertheless, even this could not fully compensate for the drop in sales of certain categories offline.
According to Nielsen, the largest growth online was shown by snacks (+270%), dairy products (+177%), spices and cooking oils (+150%).
In 2021, analysts believe that the following factors will continue to influence the sector: the flow of demand to online; the redistribution of offline sales in favor of stores in new locations; the continued interest in natural and "healthy" products; home leisure and home consumption.