Supermarkets were the clear winners of the corona crisis.
An analysis by the EHI Institute now shows which discounters benefited the most.
Cologne - While many shops had to close completely, the supermarkets remained open during the Corona crisis.
During the lockdown, shopping in the supermarket was the only “social event” for many, and that also changed people's shopping behavior in the pandemic: Consumers went to supermarkets less often, but put more into shopping carts.
This led to an increase in sales and a shift in market shares, as an analysis by the retail research institute, EHI Retail Institute, has now revealed.
Edeka, Lidl, Rewe and Co: Which supermarket is ahead in Germany
The event and travel industry suffered, but the grocery trade recorded around 60 percent of the top 1,000 sales in Germany in 2020.
The supermarkets and discounters achieve this result even with a smaller number of sales outlets than they did a few years ago.
Because the number of shops is falling - and not just since Corona.
In 2018, for example, there were a total of 3.6 percent more sales outlets (57,440), in 2020 there were only 54,900.
However, these achieved higher sales: the increase in sales in 2020 was 3.6 percent compared to 2018.
In general, discounters profited the most, with a turnover of 42.2 percent they held the lion's share in the market.
Supermarkets accounted for 34.1 percent and hypermarkets for 16.4 percent of sales.
The discounter Lidl was even able to overtake its competitor Rewe compared to the previous year and secure a larger piece of the market.
The market shares will shift even further in the future, because the Real branches will be closed.
They go to Kaufland, which like Lidl belongs to the Schwarz Group, as well as to Rewe, Globus and the market leader Edeka.
rank |
Sales line |
2020 net sales in millions |
Number of sales outlets |
Edeka |
Grocery trade |
37,362 |
5,921 |
Lidl |
Grocery trade |
21,600 |
3,202 |
Rewe |
Grocery trade |
18,300 |
3,289 |
Aldi south |
Grocery trade |
16,400 |
1,940 |
net |
Grocery trade |
14,550 |
4,262 |
Kaufland |
Grocery trade |
13,460 |
677 |
Aldi north |
Grocery trade |
12,200 |
2,220 |
penny |
Grocery trade |
8,050 |
2,200 |
dm |
body and health |
7,350 |
2.024 |
real |
Grocery trade |
6,800 |
268 |
Ikea, Obi and Co .: These are the winners at hardware stores and furniture stores
During the lockdowns, people rarely spent more time at home.
The EHI speaks of a "cocooning trend" that motivated people to make themselves comfortable in their own four walls.
The early lockdown easing for hardware stores and the click and collect system also contributed to an increase in sales.
The winner was the market leader Ikea, where even bestsellers were in short supply in some cases.
But other hardware stores and furniture stores also scored points.
rank |
Sales line |
Turnover in billions of euros |
Ikea |
furniture shop |
4,464 |
Obi |
Hardware store |
3,915 |
bauhaus |
Hardware store |
3,790 |
Hornbach |
Hardware store |
2,680 |
Toom |
Hardware store |
2,660 |
Hagebaumarkt |
Hardware store |
2,630 |
globe |
Hardware store |
1,580 |
Höffner |
furniture shop |
1,440 |
Poco |
furniture shop |
1,400 |
Scooter |
furniture shop |
1,075 |
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