Asia to dominate global grocery growth, IGD

The global grocery retail market will add $2.7 trillion in sales to 2022, with growth in the next five years dominated by Asia, according to IGD. The latter will be significantly boosted by a rising population and increased shopper spend, with consumer spending in the region accounting for nearly half of additional sales generated to 2022. Global growth will be driven by several factors including inflation, population growth and increased consumer spending on grocery products.

Jon Wright, Head of Retail Insight, IGD, says: “Our new research reveals a positive outlook for the sector as we predict that most regions will experience faster growth to 2022 than forecast in 2016, representing excellent opportunities for retailers and manufacturers. However, an awareness of the underlying causes of growth in each region is key. Despite it being set to experience the strongest uplift, growth in Africa’s grocery market will be primarily driven by inflation rather than increased consumer spend. The most attractive and sustainable growth opportunities are in markets where sales increase will be due to population growth or consumers spending more money – for example, Asia, Latin America and North America.”

Despite a more challenging economic outlook in Europe, the region’s grocery market will experience buoyant growth, headed up by CEE countries, which will outpace their Western European counterparts. This will be driven by local retailers that are planning extensive store opening programmes in large markets like Russia and Romania, where market consolidation is still low. With the US in the top spot in the global rankings, the country is also on the up, with the online and convenience channels to grow fastest in the next five years. “We expect further consolidation and acquisitions in the market, with deals going beyond grocery as partnerships are formed with operators in other sectors like technology, food-to-go and pharmaceutical,” says Wright.