Food retail: market falls, check grows

According to AKORT, the Russian food retail market shrank by 4.3% in 2020. At the same time, household spending decreased even more: by 5.3%.

And even the fact that the average check in stores increased by 5.1% (from 587 to 616 rubles) cannot have a significant impact on the negative dynamics.

According to 2GIS estimates, over the first nine months of the outgoing year, the total number of grocery stores in Russia increased by only 3.4%. For comparison, last year food retailers increased the number of retail outlets in the country by 19.5%, to 135,000. As of September 30, 2020, the total number of retail facilities is estimated at 139,600. Market participants note that the decrease in the dynamics of commissioning new facilities was influenced by the pandemic. As a result of the market crisis, many retailers revised their development program and opened fewer stores than planned.

The pandemic led to the fact that the retail trade turnover in Russia in November 2020 decreased by 3.1% year-on-year, to 2 trillion 998.7 billion rubles. In addition, in November, retail trade turnover decreased by 1.2% in comparison with the previous month. The retail turnover of food, beverages, and tobacco products decreased by 4.3% year-on-year (to 1 trillion 415.5 billion rubles). The retail turnover of non-food products in November decreased by 1.7% (to 1 trillion 583.2 billion rubles). At the end of the 11 months of 2020, retail trade turnover in Russia decreased by 4.1%, to 30.007 trillion rubles.

But the average check in November, according to Romir, again showed an average growth. Over the month, it increased by 30 rubles (5.1%), reaching 616 rubles. Over the year, the size of the average check grew slightly less: compared to November 2019, the average check added 21 rubles or 3.6%. The average FMCG check, in turn, also increased over the month (27 rubles or 4.5%) and reached the level of 616 rubles, like the total check. The annual dynamics turned out to be higher than the dynamics of the total check: 5.3% or 31 rubles.