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At the height of the coronavirus outbreak in Belgium, sales figures for baking products such as yeast and flower quadrupled. This according to a minor survey among supermarkets (Delhaize, Colruyt and Lidl) in Belgium, who were asked about sales on individual product categories within their stores. Several non-food FMCG product such as hair clippers and toilet paper enjoyed extraordinary sales boosts, with sales increasing with approximately *** and *** percent, respectively. On the other hand, some products’ sales suffered from the changing lifestyles of the Belgian consumers due to the pandemic. For instance, sales for ready-made meals and baked bread and pastries dropped by half, as people had more time to cook their own meals.

How the coronavirus changed the shopping landscape in Belgium…

The coronavirus outbreak sent shockwaves through the Belgian retail industry and significantly altered consumer behavior. Like most European nations, the Belgian government imposed nation-wide lockdown measures in March 2020. This resulted in the forced closure of various brick-and-mortar stores, as well as a largely quarantined consumer population. As the apprehension of closed stores and the possibility of a full quarantine rose, Belgian consumers spent more money per shopping trip than before the crisis. As such, they spent up to ** percent more on fast-moving consumer goods, such as supermarket food, than in the same period the year before. Meanwhile, Belgians were also stocking up on office-related consumer electronics and home entertainment products.

...and in the Benelux

The situation in Belgium’s neighbor to the north, the Netherlands, was not much different. At the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, retail sales fluctuated immensely in both markets. Other similarities included a peak in supermarket sales and unprecedented increases in the revenues of toilet paper and health-and-beauty products. Similar effects were expected to occur in the retail sector in the third Benelux country, Luxembourg.