Supermarkets' turnover continued to rise, supported by strong inflation in the January-August period, while consumers sought cheaper products, such as private label products, a survey by Circana said on Thursday.

 The survey said that accumulated turnover of the consumer product market totaled 5.85 billion euros in the eight-month period, up 9.8% from the same period in 2022, of which 4.457 billion represented the food category. The volume of sales was up 1% in the same period.

 Private label products raised their market share to 26.2%, up from 25.5% in the same period last year, recording a 12.9% growth rate (up from an 8.8% growth rate in brand products). Private label products in the food category saw their market share rising to 26.6% from 26.1% in 2022, in the personal health category the market share was 21.1% and in the household product category it was 26%.

 Volume of sales rose 3.8% in beverage, 3.1% in alcohol, 0.2% in personal care, 4.7% in snacks and 0.9% in dairy products, while it fell 0.8% in packaged food, 2.5% in frozen food, 1.9% in detergents and 0.2% in other household products.

 The survey also showed that consumers preferred smaller stores up to 400 sq.m. where turnover grew 15.6% with a market share of 11.6%. Hypermarkets recorded a 14.1% increase in turnover with their market share at 11.4%, while medium-sized stores' turnover rose 10.3% with a market share of 33.6%.