supermarkets record a drop in sales

Shopping carts are getting more and more expensive. With inflation, prices are rising and sales are plummeting: – 5% in the first quarter in volume over one year, and even -9.2% at the end of March, compared to the same period in 2022. A truck driver has to struggling to make ends meet. “We really buy what we use, no more“, he says. The decrease in purchases is observed in all departments: – 18.3% for salty groceries, – 26.4% for starchy foods, – 17% for cleaning products, and – 36.6% for hand and lip care.

The heavily affected fish

Dominique Schelcher, president of System U, is alarmed because the fall in sales is dizzying on certain fresh products, such as fish. But not only. “The U stores in the countryside are full of gardening and outdoor products. We feel a real brake on these products, because in the short term, they are not essential”, he said on BFMTV on March 30. Large retailers are urgently calling for a reopening of trade negotiations with manufacturers.