The latest NOA PRISM Multi-user research assignment, STRATEGIC EUROPEAN CORRUGATED REPORT (2018 – 2028) is now in the data gathering stage.  A key element of our data gathering is reviewing and investigating further the pattern of consumer retail trends in Europe – what is the split between Hypermarkets, Supermarkets, Discounters, Convenience Stores and eCommerce, how does this differ country to country and what is the possible impact on our corrugated cardboard packaging needs.  Our current research is revealing some interesting country-specific information:

Retail Channel Market Share across Europe:

France:
Hypermarket format remains strong. A price-led campaign against Discounters is being strongly fought.

Germany:
Boundaries between Discounters and standard Supermarkets are less clear. Discounters alter their layouts and shelving to focus a lot more on “customer experience”.

Italy:
Some major retailers have shifted from a focus on Hypermarkets and Supermarkets to expand their efforts through the smaller local convenience-sized store formats

Poland:
Discounters are focusing much more on improving the quality of their product range and the interior design of their stores

Spain:
Small sized Supermarkets are becoming much more popular due to their close proximity to the consumer

Turkey:
Discounters account for almost three quarters of food sales.

United Kingdom:
Consumers frequent more than one store type; Discounters are increasingly seen trading alongside a standard Supermarket. Convenience is growing too, although much less developed than the Benelux countries.

The European retail scene is undergoing constant change. Often, what happens in one country will reflect what will happen in other countries in the future. Therefore, it is important to keep abreast of these changes.

The changes in market shares of retail channels can vastly affect the packaging requirements. Discounters require attractive, sturdy and quick-to-open large format, high sided displays, large “bricks and mortar” stores favour standard, multi-faced shelf ready packaging (SRP), whereas convenience stores require much smaller single-facing SRP.

Added to this is the “new kid on the block”, eCommerce – No SRP style format is needed here at all. A big dilemma for Brand Owners is exactly how should they interact with this small but growing sector of the retail market – and packaging is a key part of that answer.

If you are a manufacturer of packaging, a Brand owner or a Retailer that needs to keep abreast of European packaging changes and who values the opinion of consumers to find ways to succeed in a competitive market, NOA PRISM can help. We are partners with many of the key Paper Packaging Trade Associations and are regularly invited to conference as Key Note speaker. We help the packaging industry to read the signs and prepare to act.

Contact Neil Osment for a more in-depth chat on 01367 899262 or link up with Neil or NOA Ltd on LinkedIn for regular updates on the paper packaging industry, our findings and our opinions.

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What do Brand Owners Really think about PLASTIC Packaging
NOA Research Project – How do we do it ?
Demand for corrugated packaging ‘set to dip’