Nowadays, consumer Markets are seeing change at a pace not witnessed ever before, offering new opportunities and challenges. This can be attributed to dramatic shifts in the buying behaviour, growing urbanisation, emergence of the service sector, changing trends/lifestyle, and most importantly, the increasing power of the retailer as a key link between a buyer and seller. 

Retail 
Five-year forecast
 

• Retails sales are forecast increased by an average of 3.6 percent in 2015–19. This would be mainly due to population growth, increasing incomes and enhanced consumer confidence on the back of increased political stability. 
• A higher average income since mid-2014 has led to an increase in household spending and consumer and business confidence. According to the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions. 
• The majority of Egyptians will continue to shop in small, independent local stores or markets, buying fresh products daily. However, the small and growing upper-middle class will drive demand for more organised retail channels, such as supermarkets and malls. A number of major mall developments whose progress had hindered after 2011 are now open or preparing to come on stream, which is likely to drive increased consumer spending.

Food and drink

Food 

Egypt's food retail sales are forecast to grow from US$79.4 billion in 2015 to US$120 billion in 2019. Demand for food will be less influenced by accelerating economic growth than demand for non-food consumer goods in the early part of the forecast period. Streamlining of food subsidies will result in less waste, which could slow growth of overall food demand.

The introduction of a smart card system for sales of subsidised bread has led to increased efficiency in distribution and has cut down diversions of subsidised flour to the black market. It has also stopped farmers using bread as animal feed.
 
 
Non-food and drink
Five-year forecast The increase in demand for non-essential items will be supported by the early economic recovery. However, it will be tempered by the high level of unemployment, the rise in tax rates and the depressed level of real wages.

Consumers are likely to delay big-ticket purchases until the economic and
political situation becomes stable.
 
  
Consumer electronics

Thereis a growing trend of electronic consumer goods in Egypt, especially mobile phones and home-entertainment equipment, although high-end brands found in the West are too expensive for most consumers. Therefore, they purchase less-expensive brands produced in Southeast Asia.
However, the sale of electronic goods in the short term will meet a host of obstacles, including rising (youth) unemployment, further devaluation of the local currency and weak economic growth on the back of the rocky political
transition.
 
How can we help?
 
Food security and safety, rural penetration and the lack of an effective supply chain are some of the key challenges faced by the Consumer Markets industry. KPMG inEgypt, with its vast repertoire of skill sets and resources, is aptly positioned to offer clients an array of services. These services include business

effectiveness, IT advisory, financial risk management, people management,
accounting advisory, mergers and acquisition, audit and tax advisory.

Companies seeking KPMG in Egypt’s knowledge and experience would be able to benefit substantially and enhance their value proposition in arriving at both product and process efficiencies, enabling sustained profitability and growth.