Food companies and retailers are becoming over-reliant on discounting to drive sales of everyday goods according to fresh data, in a sign that consumer demand is not recovering even as price inflation normalises.
Companies across Europe are increasingly attempting to entice inflation-squeezed shoppers by cutting prices on food and other consumer products. However, the discounts are failing to boost sales as planned, according to till data shared with the Financial Times.
Promotional intensity — which measures goods on promotion as a share of total sales — increased 15 per cent for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, data collected by research firm Circana showed. FMCGs is a broad category which spans everything from snacks, dairy products and meat, as well as personal care items such as shampoo, nappies and aspirin.