Asia to recover first from 2020 retail sales decline

The Asia-Pacific market will recover first from this year's declining global retail industry. According to Euromonitor International's new report, the global retail market will suffer a 3.5% sales decline in 2020. However, Asia, which has recorded US$5.5 trillion sales in retailing in 2019 and is expected to recover the fastest from COVID-19. The region's forecasted 1.5% sales decline in 2020 will to pick up to 2019 level, with a 6% growth in 2021, Euromonitor added.

Pandemic boosted e-commerce

The report reveals that non-store retailing, with e-commerce as the main driver, will grow by 8.8% in 2020-2024 in Asia. Findings show that e-commerce and modern grocery retailers have seen sales increase due to home seclusions and quarantine. Euromonitor projects that e-commerce will increase by $443 billion in 2020. Current grocery channels which include hypermarkets, discounters, supermarkets, convenience stores and forecourt retailers, are expected to see sales increase by $111 billion.
Also, Asia-Pacific remains the most robust e-commerce market in size and growth rate. It will recover the quickest after Covid-19 because of minimal impact from lockdown measures, pre-existing economic problems and lack of political change and dysfunction.
The report also notes shifts in future households and consumption patterns will form tomorrow's shoppers. Emily Leung, an analyst at Euromonitor International, explained:
"The new Generation Z, accounting for over 24% of Asia's total households in 2030, will take over from the millennials and Generation X as heads of households, impacting the family consumption patterns in Asia."
She concluded: "With COVID-19 speeding up the rate of digital transformation, the application of technologies to address this segment will help equip retailers for the future."
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