The use of cash as a payment method has been in decline for many years in Canada, and the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating this, with steep double-digit falls in cash transaction value expected in 2020. The closure of many retail outlets is severely limiting the opportunities to use cash during the periods of lockdown, and even when shopping for essential goods, many consumers have avoided using cash in order to minimise contact with paper money and coins and maintain social…

The COVID-19 restrictions on retail operations are set to bring about significant declines in transaction volumes and value for credit cards in 2020. Despite this, credit cards will remain by far the most popular type of financial card in Canada in both the personal and commercial environments.

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Charge cards is set to record the steepest decline in value transactions among all financial cards during the COVID-19 epidemic, with only cash registering a weaker performance. Although personal charge cards are popular among wealthier individuals who appreciate the flexibility of no set spending limits, they generally do not offer extended payment terms and the balance must be paid off in full each month. Even higher net worth individuals are clearly exercising caution around their…

Volume growth of sticking plasters/adhesive bandage and gauze, tape and other wound care – the only two categories that have shown measurable sales within wound care – declined annually for most of review period, with COVID-19 expected to marginally intensify the downward volume trend in 2020. Over the review period, the decline was largely driven by an unstable economy, which led consumers to reduce their spending on these products. Within wound care, consumers are willing to change to…

Wound care volume sales are dipping marginally in 2020, with fewer minor accidents being experienced by home-confined consumers. Children did not go to school while gyms and sports centres remained shut during the lockdown, meaning recreation and sports activity has been much less, in turn limiting demand for wound care. This has stalled the category’s strong review period performance. Indeed, lifestyle trends had been supporting the high growth of wound care in Turkey, as consumers…

Wound care saw an improved performance in 2020 compared with 2019 as consumers stockpiled such products as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Philusa mentioned in an interview that the category sees increased demand during any disaster or health emergency. Furthermore, consumers purchased products for home treatment in order to avoid having to go to a hospital or doctor’s surgery. Companies that managed to expand lower scale retailing benefited from the lockdown measures, as consumers were…

The outbreak of COVID-19 in Sweden has encouraged an increasing number of consumers to engage in fitness activities, to remain strong and healthy, with a robust immune system. Therefore, many consumers engaged in more outdoor activities, including running and hiking. This is set to boost value growth for wound care during the year, with an increase of minor injuries boosting growth for both gaze, tape and other wound care, as well as sticking plasters/adhesive bandages. As such, both areas…

Wound care is anticipated to see slowed growth in 2020 overall, compared to 2019 due to the COVID-19 crisis. With people staying at home due to lockdown in March, and then further restrictions throughout the year, many Guatemalans have been staying at home more than usual. Consequently, there has been less exposure to potential accidents (especially in the workplace) that would require the use of sticking plasters and other wound care products. Wound care is commonly used in education…

Retail value sales of wound care products was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as lockdowns measures introduced across Bulgaria to limit the spread of the virus forced consumers to remain indoors and thus limited their ability to engage in activities likely to lead to injuries. This reduction in the amount of outdoor and physical activities consumers could participate in caused sales of wound care products to slow down in 2020 with consumers less exposed to injuries and blisters…

COVID-19 is expected to have a limited effect on value sales of wound care products in 2020 and there was less stockpiling than other consumer health products. Also, as people are forced to restrict their movement, there is less need for wound care products. With children playing outside less and gyms closed, there are fewer injuries. Once restrictions ease, more injuries are expected to occur. However, one change due to COVID-19 was that some imported wound care products became cheaper, as…

Weight management and wellbeing is expected to see similar current value growth in 2020 than was seen in the previous year. Consumption was able to grow besides the COVID-19 outbreaks as adult consumers’ concern surrounding nutritional diets remained high. As a result, demand for meal replacement and supplement nutrition drinks remained high as these products are associated with better nutrition and higher energy levels, rather than just strictly weight loss. However, slimming teas and…

Demand for weight management and wellbeing has been significantly lower in 2020 on account of the COVID-19 lockdown. Consumer priorities have changed to the detriment of these products as household essentials have become the main focus, with reduced disposable incomes further marginalising weight management and wellbeing. However, supplement nutrition drinks continue to see greater consumer interest, albeit with decelerated volume sales growth than in 2019 (pre-pandemic), thanks to these…

Weight management and wellbeing products slipped into negative growth territory in 2020 as consumers reprioritised spending elsewhere, with increased focus on immunity and a preventative approach to health. Furthermore, with limited opportunity to venture outside the home, many consumers were not motivated to invest in weight control or personal appearance. However, interest in sliming products started to increase slowly in Q3 and Q4 of 2020, due to increased consumption of food, and…

The outbreak of COVID-19 is set to have a marked impact on both of the main weight management and wellbeing areas; meal Replacements and weight loss supplements. For meal replacements, growth is set to be positive compared to negative growth recorded in 2019, as the products saw additional consumer interest from hoarders and preppers. Meal replacement products also saw increased interest from consumers that were unable to shift their exercise activities outdoors, wanting to strictly align to…

After maintaining growth throughout the review period, weight management and wellbeing is expected to see declining current value sales for the first time in 2020 overall. Due to lockdown restrictions that began being implemented in March and throughout the rest of the year, many Guatemalans have been spending more time at home and thus preparing home-cooked meals. Many have taken this opportunity to eat healthier and consume more natural meals, which has decreased the demand for all product…

Weight management and wellbeing is expected to be the most affected among consumer health products by COVID-19, with double-digit decline in value growth expected. Sports nutrition is the only other consumer health product expected to register value growth decline, but it not as valuable a product area as weight management and wellbeing. The reason for the dramatic decline is that value sales in its largest product area, meal replacement, fell sharply. With consumers cooking more at home due…

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer expenditure throughout South Korea dropped considerably, with store-based retailing being particularly negatively impacted. Consequently, transaction volume and value fell sharply, following years of already sluggish growth.

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Store cards, often referred as “Gaisho cards” in Japan, had already been declining in terms of number of cards in circulation as well as transaction value and volume in recent years, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country. The major issuers, mainly department stores, are no longer issuing new cards, preferring to encourage consumers to shift to co-branded credit cards. Moreover, although Japan’s population is ageing, the new generation of older consumers shows little interest in…

Following the robust year of current value growth in 2019, sports nutrition is set to post a slightly slower but still strong, double-digit current value growth rate in 2020. Sports nutrition may still be regarded as a niche category due to its still relatively low penetration, but the COVID-19 outbreak drove demand from a wider scope of consumers. While over the review period most sales were driven by athletes, bodybuilders and serious gym goers, in 2020 a more traditional consumer base…

Sports nutrition products have become increasingly popular among gym-goers. The leading companies frequently open stands for their products and use in-store visuals to promote their brands. However, there has been a steep drop in demand for sport nutrition on account of COVID-19, which forced gyms to close in Turkey from the middle of March until the summer, negating the need for products typically consumed prior or following a gym workout, eg sports protein powder. In response, some…