A new study by Marketmedia24 reveals the impact of Corona on the German market for paper, office supplies and stationery.
According to this latest study, the pandemic has hit the German market for paper, office supplies and stationery (PBS) hard, Marketmedia 24 said. In the two Corona years 2020 and 2021, sales collapsed by a total of €2 billion ($2.3 billion). Paper, the largest stationery sub-market, shows the strongest decline with a minus of around 14%. But sales of office and school supplies, which were still on the upswing before Corona, also fell by double digits during the pandemic.
Marketmedia24’s study shows that stationery suffered the same fate. And although hopes of a foreseeable end to the pandemic situation are currently increasing, the general conditions for industry and trade remain challenging.
That is why the calculations of the research team from Marketmedia24, in the recently published “Branchen-REPORT Papier, Bürobedarf und Schreibwaren 2022” are rather cautiously optimistic for the future. But despite its negative impact, the pandemic is also proving to be a forward-looking strategy accelerator in industry and trade in this sector.
The only winner who shows an increase in sales after the two Corona years 2020 and 2021 is distance selling. The market researchers from Marketmedia24 emphasise that the triumph of online retailers will continue even after Corona. As a result, by 2030 online trade will be well ahead of specialist retailers with a market share of almost 29%.
In the most optimistic (V) scenario, only the group of “other providers” will also have slightly more sales in 2030 than in 2019.
In addition to additional sales fields, the changing demand during the pandemic sets the direction. In some cases, more quality was demanded and individual products were increasingly popular. In particular, the demand for sustainable offers is getting louder.
That is why the ranges are adjusted accordingly, even if the sales figures do not always follow the same path. Insiders estimate the share of sales from sustainable products to be at least 5 and at most 15%. There is therefore no getting around a strategic, sustainable orientation.
The corona pandemic has made it difficult to make specific predictions about the future development of a market. The new “Industry REPORT Paper, Office Supplies and Stationery 2022” cannot give a clear answer to the question of the future due to the many unknown influencing factors. Nevertheless, the study provides viable scenarios up to 2030 based on possible developments in economic growth.
