Industry revenue of »retail sale in non-specialised stores with food« in Bulgaria 2011-2023

Food and grocery is one of the largest sectors in the Bulgarian retail industry and accounted for over 50 percent of total retail sales in 2016. Revenues from food-retail amounted to 4.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 and are projected to grow to nearly 8.6 billion U.S. dollars by 2023. Key drivers include the improved consumer confidence, efficient domestic distribution network, growing private label brands and growth in the number of grocery stores. Hypermarkets, supermarkets and discount stores are the largest channel in terms of sales. These are followed by convenience stores and specialty stores. Moreover, the five largest supermarket stores, namely, the Bulgarian subsidies of Kaufland, Lidl, Fantastico and T-Market, hold a 37 percent overall market share, according to the website seenews.com.

Another key reason why retail sales are flourishing is the lack of online penetration in this segment. As of 2019, only four percent of individuals had purchased groceries online in Bulgaria. However, the trend is expected to change in the short to medium term as the outbreak of the corona virus has opened up the market for online players such as eBag and Supermag. As consumers stay home amid the nationwide lockdown, eBag is expecting a 20 percent surge in deliveries. The e-tailer has also hired an additional 20 individuals in order to ensure efficient deliveries.