Although there had been no widespread wave of price hikes until recently, market analysts note that in recent days the first supermarket price lists have begun to appear, reflecting the increased costs resulting from the crisis in the Middle East, which has affected energy, transportation, and raw materials.
The delay, unusual compared to previous crises such as the pandemic or the war in Ukraine, is attributed to the resilience of consumer spending, government measures prohibiting promotional activities in the event of price hikes, as well as the need for suppliers and retailers to assess the situation, seeking a delicate balance without being forced to immediately implement new price hikes, as they tell Euro2day.gr.
This, however, does not mean that prices have not already risen. The latest Eurostat data confirm an acceleration in inflation. In April, it stood at 3% in the Eurozone, up from 2.6% in March, while in Greece it surged to 4.6%, intensifying pressure on household disposable income.
In supermarkets, sales of fast-moving consumer goods rose in the first quarter. This period already includes one month since the start of the war in the Middle East, with growth driven not only by price increases but also by sustained positive sales volume.
According to Circana data, sales volume increased by 4%, while prices continued to rise at a more moderate pace. The average price per unit rose by 2.1%, higher than the +1.7% recorded in 2025, with increases observed in food products (+2.8%), while prices for personal hygiene products remained flat and cleaning products saw a marginal decline (-0.1%). Overall, the market value stood at €3.494 billion in the first quarter of 2026, recording a 6.9% increase year-over-year.
An analysis of sales shows that the market is now driven by two pillars. Standardized products (fixed barcode) continue to form the core, accounting for 76.8% of the value. However, “counter” products or products sold by weight (random weight) are increasing their share, reaching 23.2% and recording a faster growth rate of +9.1% and sales of 811 million euros.
This category, which includes fresh foods such as meat, fruits, vegetables, and fish, is growing significantly, with individual growth rates exceeding +13% in certain subcategories, such as fish and vegetables.
Market growth is driven by food products, which now account for 83.5% of total FMCG value, while recording a+7% increase in value and 4% in volume, higher than the personal hygiene and care categories (+2.9% in value and volume) and home care/cleaning products (+3.2% in value and 3.3% in volume). Within the food sector, the categories that grew the fastest in the first quarter were: frozen foods (+10.2% in value and 9.7% in volume), dairy products (+9% in value and 7.8% in volume), snacks (+7.6% in value and 2.1% in volume), and non-alcoholic beverages (+9.2% in value and 2.1% in volume).
Geographical variations and promotional activities
Growth is not uniform across the country. Regions such as Central Greece (+7.1%), the islands, and Crete (+7%) are outperforming, while Attica, despite having the largest market share (44.8%), is growing at a more moderate pace (+5.9%). At the same time, all store formats are showing positive growth, with hypermarkets recording +8.5% growth, while medium-sized supermarkets (+4%) are lagging behind.
During the same period, private-label products continue to gain ground, with a growth rate of +7.7% and a 27.7% market share by value. Their performance exceeds that of branded products, which grew by +5.7%. This is also due to the fact that price increases for private labels are higher than for branded products.
At the same time, promotional activities are picking up again, particularly in food, where the percentage of sales under promotional offers rose to 26.5% from 24.8%. In non-food items, promotions have declined by up to 3 percentage points.