According a study conducted by Kantar for the association of branded products ‘Centromarca’, the 8th ‘Marcas+Consumidores’ the frequency Portuguese nationals go shopping increased in 2019 to 46.9 days, as well as the amount spent on each of these visits to stores (3.2 percent more compared to the previous year).


“It is the first time, in four years, that the increase of the two variables occurs simultaneously,” Centromarca said in a statement.


Even so, it added that the feeling of savings associated with these acts of purchase is positive since in the last year nationals managed to save €141 compared to €126 of average savings recorded in the previous year.


According to the study, the trivialisation of sales allowed nationals to buy products at a discount on 68.7 percent of shopping trips, without the average discount having increased.


On the contrary, in 2019, the average discount on promotions fell by 1.4 percentage points, they said.


Distribution brands are, according to the study published, the ones that benefit most from this movement, continuing to gain the confidence of the Portuguese and to grow in the natural territories of manufacturers’ brands.


The loss of impact of promotional actions and lower performance of key moments of the year, such as Christmas and summer, prevent the brands of manufacturers from growing at the level of distribution brands (MDD), the study also pointed out.


At the same time, the MDD brands are now focusing more on summer activity, most of the time with products that avoid the seasonal factor, such as oils and olive oil, baby food and eggs.


One of the key elements of this trend is the increasing focus on the communication of MDD brands, they said.


At the same time as there is an increase in consumption at home, consumption outside the home decreases, and in 2019 the smallest share of the last three summers was recorded.


“This decrease was due to two factors: a cooler summer and a growing incentive to consume indoors. Still, although less frequent, out-of-home consumption involves higher spending on consumption. This increase is justified by an increase in shared consumption occasions, which imply on average a 56 percent higher expenditure than individual consumption,” the study said.


The analysis said that 77 percent of out-of-home consumption takes place in Horeca consumption spaces (hotels, restaurants and cafes) and 11 percent in modern distribution spaces, with the new formats of large-scale distribution increasingly closer to Portuguese consumers and the emergence of new players reinforces the weight of MDD brands in out-of-home consumption.


Centromarca was founded in June 1994 and its mission is to create an environment of fair and intense competition for brands that encourages innovation and provides maximum value to consumers.