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Total turnover in domestic food trade is in the higher single-digit percentage range than before the pandemic, according to the trade association that requested it from ORF.at. However, the purchases would have been “normalized”, meaning there are no more hamster purchases. However, some products are still in much higher demand than before, including pasta with a 22 percent plus in April, presumably because they can also be quickly prepared in the home office, says Rainer Will, managing director of the association. commercial. Rice, eggs, and milk or milk powder are also in high demand.
Naturally, the demand in the food trade for the closing in mid-March was particularly high, according to an assessment of purchases of 2,800 households by Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA). With the announcement of the first measures and the blockade, sales in the eleventh calendar week increased by almost a third compared to the average of previous years. Sales in March were 22.8 percent higher than the same period last year, the full quarter compared to the previous year at an average of 12.9 percent.
Vegetables were also in high demand in the form of canned goods, according to AMA, their sales also increased by a third in the first quarter, followed by frozen potato products, canned milk and canned fruit. Various dairy products, frozen vegetables, canned lettuce and pickled vegetables, and canned vegetables and eggs were also in high demand in the first quarter, mainly due to the huge demand in March.
According to the latest figures from the trade association, sales of fresh products such as fruits, vegetables, fresh meat, cheese and dairy products have increased by 10-20 percent since the beginning of March. In the dry range area, demand is also above average, although not significantly higher. Also in the hygiene segment, sales in the single-digit range are still above average: rubber gloves and disinfectants are still in demand.
People buy less, but buy more
The initial constraints are also clearly evident in purchasing behavior: People in Austria go shopping less often, but then spend more money. Young households, according to AMA figures, were supplied with a basic supply in the first quarter, but also older people and workers who generally eat outside the home. The rise of the home office should also have contributed a lot to the increased demand. According to the AMA, low and high income households have suffered.
Online food trade has also benefited from initial restrictions according to the trade association, but from a very low level: before the crisis, the share of sales was only 1.5 percent. And meanwhile, a third of national online shoppers rate purchases at national retailers more important than before the crisis, according to the trade association.
Farmers benefit from the crisis.
And it’s not just supermarkets that have benefited from the general increase in demand for food: according to the AMA, butchers, direct sellers and farmers’ markets also grew 15.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Direct sellers in particular, that is, those who sell on the farm, have benefited greatly from the crisis (plus 22.1 percent). This is probably also due to the increase in online offers since the crisis.
According to the trade association, there is a longer trend towards regional vegetables and meat, which has been intensified by the crisis. However, many retailers would have a strong focus on Austrian products. According to the trade association, organic foods are also in greater demand; however, according to AMA figures for the first quarter, the organic content of food has remained constant.
Muffled by closed gastronomy
Retailers have also clearly felt gastronomy closed: according to the AMA, almost a quarter of sales and products used are found in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Fresh meat in particular was less in demand; According to the AMA, almost half of the meat is consumed outside the home. Due to unusual barbecues, private demand was also lower than usual, and eggs were also purchased significantly less by the catering trade.
