2020 will always be remembered as the year of the coronavirus and, more specifically, by the confinement in Spanish homes during the spring. These months were decisive for purchases in Spanish supermarkets with growth of 6.5%, according to data from the consulting firm Nielsen.

Total, the Spanish spent 95,000 million euros on purchases. From 6.5%, the large part is due to increased purchases, specifically, 4.4%. The remaining 2% is explained by the rise in prices.

Lidl has been the supermarket that has grown the most during the last year, reaching 67% penetration (67 out of 100 people recall having bought in a supermarket of this German chain during the last year) when in 2017 it was 62%. For its part, Mercadona continues to be the leading chain in Spain with 92% penetration.

Regional supermarkets have experienced a big rise with a 22% share. The supermarkets that have fallen the most have been those of the string Day, while the rest of supermarkets (Carrefour, El Corte Inglés, Auchan or Eroski) remain at similar levels.

The highest growth occurred during the months of confinement (29% more) representing the highest peak the week of March 9-15, after the declaration of the State of Alarm, when they increased by 72% compared to the previous year.

Few closings and online growth

By the end of the year, there were in Spain a total of 22,246 establishments, which means a total of 64 less from the previous year. Of the total, there are 22,031 supermarkets (99%) and only 474 hypermarkets. As for the surfaceThe smallest ones stand out (<300 square meters) which are 9,514 (42% of the total). Meanwhile, the largest hypermarkets (> 6,500 square meters) only represent 1.1%.

Regarding online commerce, fostered by the fear of contagion, the figures doubled compared to the previous year and at the beginning of 2021 they reached a weekly average growth of around 115%. The greatest growth has been in the category of fresh products (+ 150%) since, according to the director of NielsenIQ Spain, Patricia Daimiel “fear of this channel is being lost, even in older ages”He said in statements collected by Financial Food.

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