Retail and e-commerce – September 2023

Developments in retail
ING (in Dutch) expects Dutch retail sales to shrink, for the first time in a decade, by 2% in 2023. In particular, consumers will buy less clothing, furniture and electronics. Only the personal care segment shows no decline. In the food segment, consumer spending will partly shift from specialist shops to supermarkets due to high inflation.
According the Postal and Parcel Markets Scan (in Dutch) of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, consumers and businesses sent 43 million fewer parcels in 2022 than in the previous year.
Euromonitor has published an article about the 10 fastest growing retailers in Asia Pacific. The impact of the pandemic on retail sales across markets in Asia Pacific varied greatly in 2022. The impact was largely dependent on each country’s COVID-19 situation, the containment measures adopted, and the approach taken towards an endemic future.

Reusable packaging
A Eunomia report (3.17 MB) published by Zero Waste Europe shows that reusable take-away packaging could present a compelling climate case over single-use alternatives if return and washing systems are properly implemented and optimised.
On 31 August 2023, Robert Büss held a speech entitled ‘Preliminary impact assessment – an integrative way of looking at packaging?: a reusable packaging design case study‘ as part of his master assignment at the University of Twente. Chairman of the assessment committee was prof. Roland ten Klooster who holds the NVC Chair Packaging Design and Management.

Sustainable (e-)retail packaging
Good Natured Products has announced the results of its eco-friendly packaging survey. The report (6.04 MB) reveals the consumer sentiment and preferences around convenience eating.
Smithers has published an infographic with 8 insights into the market for sustainable e-commerce packaging, including market sizes, growth by end-use and region. You can download the infographic after filling in your details.
Amazon has announced ‘The Sustainability Solutions Hub’, The hub helps sellers with their product and packaging sustainability goals. It provides all the information sellers need to get started with Amazon’s sustainability programs.
According to research by DS Smith (in Dutch), unsustainable packaging is a reason for 1 in 5 Dutch and Belgian consumers to stop ordering at that particular shop. You can download the study (in Dutch) after filling in your details.
A study (361 kB) by the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg entitled ‘Plastic packaging: Are German retailers on the way towards a circular economy?’ has been published in GAIA. commit to promoting a circular economy (CE) to tackle the plastic crisis. The strategies and perspectives of the German retailers on the role of consumers are qualitatively analysed based on sustainability reports and press releases.

Future of food service packaging
Deliveroo has published a report (2.4 MB), bringing together leading futurists and experts from the worlds of food, science, technology and innovation to create a forward-looking view of how the nation will be eating by 2040 and how our dinner tables are set to revolutionise.
A study (1.24 MB) by EPIC examines how a food-delivery platform in China used “green nudges” to increase the share of no-cutlery orders by 648%.
 

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