The outbreak of COVID-19 in Sweden at the beginning of 2020 is set to drive credit card transaction values down sharply by the end of the year. Although Sweden has taken a famously relaxed approach to pandemic management, with no quarantines or lockdowns, no official requirement to wear a mask in social situations and no mandated store closures, there are still social distancing measures in place, and Swedish consumers are acutely aware of the risks of the virus. As a result, spending on…

Although cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies saw strong current value growth during most of the review period, in 2020 the rate of growth is expected to increase as a result of COVID-19. In the first half of the year, consumers stockpiled as they believed it was necessary to keep these products at home in case the pandemic spread and the national lockdown lasted for a long time. However, as Vietnam has been very successful in controlling the pandemic so far, the impact was…

In 2020 cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies will benefit from Ukrainians panic-buying such products, fearing shortages during the COVID-19 lockdown. This is despite the worsening economic situation and weakening consumer spending power. Ukrainians typically self-medicate, visiting the doctor as a last resort, and this tradition did not alter during the outbreak of COVID-19, with consumers being advised to stay at home to combat the spread.

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Growth in cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies in Tunisia is supported by a number of factors. Firstly, Tunisian consumers’ propensity to self-medicate for minor ailments, purchasing OTC products from pharmacists instead of seeking medical attention. Going to see a doctor is expensive in Tunisia and the majority of Tunisians do not have social security cover. In addition, hospitals provide a poor service which has simply worsened due to COVID-19.

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Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies is expected to see just marginally slower current value growth in 2020 than was seen in other years of the review period. People have had to spend more time at home due to the COVID-19 lockdown, especially in the first half of the year. The closure of schools is expected to have a particularly significant impact, as these are usually places where coughs and colds spread rapidly. Even when consumers do go out, they have to wear a mask and observe…

There will be a slowdown in value sales growth of cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies during 2020, with COVID-19 playing an important role in this. This will occur in spite of a worse than usual flu season early in the year, particularly among small children and babies. A decrease in the number of children being administered the flu vaccination (the anti-vaccine movement is gaining ground in Slovenia) may have played a role in this. There were actually very few cases of COVID-19…

COVID-19 will have a net positive effect on sales in 2020 for a number of reasons. Firstly, there were fewer doctor’s visits in 2020, either due to fear of infection at medical facilities or the desire not to overburden healthcare systems. The fact Slovakians were more likely to take OTC products than go to their doctor for prescription medicine benefitted sales of pharyngeal preparations, cough and cold remedies and decongestants. A second positive corollary of COVID-19 for cough, cold and…

COVID-19 will result in a modest deceleration in the growth of value sales of cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies in Serbia during 2020. There is some evidence to suggest that measures taken to reduce the rate of transmission of the pandemic during the spring also slowed the spread of other, more common, infectious diseases, such as colds. Medicated confectionery will see the sharpest slowdown in value sales growth, in spite of being one of the best performers in cough, cold and…

The stay at home mandate in force in Romania from 24 March, dramatically reduced the number of cough and cold cases, and thus lowered demand for remedies. Equally, the social distancing measures in place and the ban on public gatherings of large groups, kept the incidence of coughs and colds low even after May when Romanians were permitted to leave their homes. Equally, Romanians’ focus on hygiene has significantly increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by a wide number of…

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted current retail value sales of cough, cold and allergy products in 2020. Stockpiling occurred at the start of lockdown as consumers made sure they had large enough supplies of these products for themselves and their families. The government imposed lockdown measures began in Peru on 16 March until 4 May 2020, and forbid people to leave home apart from to carry out essential tasks, with a curfew in place between 20.00hrs and 05.00hrs. As a result,…

The outbreak of COVID-19 in Norway is expected to lead to an 8% rise in value growth, compared to 5% recorded in 2019. The obligation to self-quarantine in case of COVID-19 symptoms, drove up demand for cough remedies, with nasal sprays expected to see the biggest growth of the year, due to a surge in sales toward the end of Q1. In addition, no restriction on sales were put in place for nasal product or cough remedies; however, pharmacists did gently request that consumers buy no more than…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies is expected to be largely unaffected by COVID-19, with similar healthy double-digit value growth as 2019. However, part of this growth in 2020 is driven by inflation as a result of the economic effect of COVID-19, which has led to price rises. Though the product area is expected to register similar growth to 2019, consumer behaviour is expected to change slightly. Unlike 2019, where medicated confectionery recorded the highest value growth, cough…

Panic and fear caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 has provoked Moroccan consumers to stockpile many products in cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies. In most cases, consumer decision making was based on future precaution rather than specific need, with customers preparing for extended periods of lockdown as future restrictions seemed uncertain. Many consumers, for example, stockpiled nasal sprays and decongestants, which are both expected to see considerable value and volume growth…

In 2020, cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies is expected to see stronger current value growth than in any other year of the review period. The stronger growth rate is because consumers have been trying to protect themselves from COVID-19 by avoiding going to doctors’ clinics or hospitals, where they fear they are more likely to contract the virus. This consumer behaviour is expected to continue for the rest of the year, since the country has not yet been successful in controlling…

Overall consumer health is not expected to see a significant difference in its growth rate in 2020 compared with the previous year, with just a marginally higher current value increase. However, the emergence of the COVID-19 virus in the country at the beginning of the year had different impacts on different consumer health categories. For instance, there was a dramatic increase in demand for dietary supplements, systemic analgesics and cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies in the…

Consumer health is expected to see slower current value growth in 2020 than was seen in the previous year. One of the factors dictating growth in this year is expected to be COVID-19. As news about the virus emerged in the country, consumers began panic-buying at the beginning of March, stockpiling certain consumer health products, such as analgesics, cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies, immunity-boosting vitamins and dietary supplements, for fear of shortages. However, this was…

One major impact on consumer health in Tunisia, in light of COVID-19, is the negative affect on consumer spending power, with economists believing that purchasing power declined 30% in Q2 2020. Therefore, Tunisians are expected to become increasingly price-sensitive due to economic conditions in the country and the impacts from COVID-19. However, on a positive note, the trend for self-medication continues to grow in the country, which supports most sub-categories in consumer health. This…

2020 is not expected to be a good year for consumer health in Thailand, with a strong current value decline expected, after seeing strong growth in all other years of the review period. At the beginning of the year the country was already suffering from a soft economic environment, as well as other factors, including droughts, high household debt, unemployment and a slowdown in tourism. Technological disruption was also leading to an escalating number of job losses and unemployment,…

COVID-19 will have a negative impact on demand for consumer health in 2020, with the rate of growth in value sales slowing. In analgesics, the negative impact of COVID-19 on disposable incomes means that consumers are now less likely to purchase them as a precautionary measure. Demand growth for cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies has been undermined by the fact that COVID-19 lockdowns led to a decrease in the incidence of colds and flu, particularly when compared to the previous…

Consumer health in Slovakia is expected to show considerable resilience in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite troubling economic circumstances, many consumers saw consumer health products as indispensable and continued to buy them despite decreasing incomes. Initial stockpiling in March did cause some product shortages, particularly in cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies. Medication like acetaminophen and ibuprofen were particularly affected as people looked to pre-empt…