Retail in the EU grew by 6.8 percent in 2021

Following a 1.5 percent increase in sales in the 27 EU states in the first Corona year 2020, the retail sector again recorded a significant increase of 6.8 percent in 2021. The highest growth rates were in smaller Eastern European countries such as Lithuania (up 17 percent), Slovenia (up 16 percent) and Estonia (up 13 percent). Larger markets such as France, Spain and Italy also all recorded retail growth rates of over 7 percent. This is shown by the new Retail in Europe study, in which the market research institute GfK examines important key indicators.

The strong retail sales performance is due in particular to the non-food sector, which saw double-digit growth in the majority of countries in 2021 and even exceeded 20 percent in individual countries such as Slovenia. The strong sales growth in 2021 here is mainly due to the weak guidance from 2020.

"Despite the Corona pandemic and a difficult market environment, the past two years have been quite pleasing for the retail sector overall from a sales perspective," explains study director Dr. Philipp Willroth. "But city-center-relevant retail continues to suffer badly in many European countries. This is because online retail is gaining more and more ground, especially in high-growth regions in Europe, which is why new digital offerings will also have to be tested in city center retail in the medium term."

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