Supermarket

The market in Greece is currently operating at four different speeds, depending on each region's risk level, which is generating concern and internal conflict within retail commerce and confusion among consumers.

Retail commerce saw its turnover drop by just 7.9% in November 2020, compared to a year earlier, a decline that appears small given that Greece entered its second lockdown on November 7. However, this is due to the significant increase in sales at supermarkets and other food stores.

Wolt is following the example of other platforms to such as efood, BOX and Delivery.gr, and entering the growing supermarket delivery market.

The 9.7% annual increase in supermarket turnover in 2020 - amounting to additional revenues of more than 1 billion euros - is set to drive changes in the retail landscape in Greece.

Supermarket sales recorded a 15-year high in 2020, being one of the very few winners during the pandemic.

Data collected by Nielsen researchers showed a 9.7% rise in organized food retailing during 2020. This concerns supermarkets of at least 100 square meters on mainland Greece and Crete, including retail chains.

When the state of emergency in the country was declared in mid-March, many people rushed to food stores and began stocking up on durable products - flour, cereals, canned food, toilet paper... The traders' assurances that none of these was at risk of disappearing from shelves did not help.

 Intensified inspections of the stores of teams of RHI inspectors, the Ministry of Interior, the Food Agency and the Consumer Protection Commission are starting.

The goal is to put an end to the huge crowds in front of the entrances of the big stores and shops, as well as to avoid gatherings of many people.

A woman browses Christmas decoration products in a shop in central Athens on Monday. Seasonal shops selling festive decorations were allowed to open 18 days ahead of Christmas, and have been excluded from the lockdown on retail stores that has been in place since November 7. The seasonal stores are open from 7 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. Also as of Monday, supermarkets are also selling Christmas items.

The pandemic has accelerated corporate evolution, with the sale of products directly from the producer to the consumer - hitherto restricted to the primary sector - now infiltrating the consumer goods industry as well.

The pandemic has been the catalyst for the 8.4% annual growth in supermarket turnover from the start of the year till mid-November, according to the latest data by Nielsen, with 70% of that increase being attributed to the nine weeks of the spring lockdown and the first couple of weeks of the fall lockdown.