Global Retail Sales Projected To Fall 9.6 Pct On Average

Amid the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, Forrester forecasts that global retail sales this year will drop by an average of 9.6 percent around the world. The research firm also forecasts that it will take four years for retailers to catch up with levels prior to the pandemic, according to an announcement.

“COVID-19 is significantly impacting the global retail landscape,” Forrester Principal Forecast Analyst Michael O’Grady said in the announcement. “Retail categories like grocery and essential consumables are performing well, while other categories like fashion, beauty and cosmetics are seeing a marked decline in consumer spend.”

O’Grady also noted, “In 2020, there will be a significant decline in global retail sales, particularly with non-essential items sold offline, which will be a big challenge for brick and mortar retailers. Online sales, however, will be more resilient. To navigate the crisis, retailers need to manage their costs and drive their eCommerce sales and services as much as possible.”

The coronavirus’ effect on retail sales be different throughout the globe due to regional differences and taking into account that each nation is in a different phase of the pandemic per the firm’s updated retail forecasts throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Spanish retail sales, for instance, dropped over 14 percent last month per Bloomberg. The decline illustrates the limitations on movement aside from shopping for specific items like pharmaceutical products as well as food and the shuttering of businesses that are not essential.

Spain’s government, for its part, recently put forward a multi-step plan to take away what was said to be some of the strictest lockdowns on the continent per past reports. The nation’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, had noted that the easing of measures would start May 4 and vary between provinces.

As previously reported, The U.S. Department of Commerce released its March retail sales results that illustrated record-setting drops because of changes in consumer behavior and the coronavirus lockdown. Overall sales dropped 8.7 percent for March, which was said to be the largest drop as of 1992.