Despite continued pressure on margins and growth, renewed momentum is emerging in European grocery in 2026—with private label, adjacencies, M&A, and AI opening new pockets of opportunity. The year 2025 was characterized by low-growth stabilization under sustained profitability pressure. In Europe, grocery sales grew by 3.4 percent—consumer prices continued to increase moderately by 2.9 percent, while volume grew by 0.6 percent, with marginal downtrading at –0.1 percent. While cost and margin pressure remained the top concern for CEOs, overall executive sentiment improved, with a majority expecting market conditions to remain stable or improve. Consumer behavior also showed emerging markers of stabilization, with only limited shifts in spending patterns compared to 2024—private label continued to gain relevance, reaching a 40 percent share, while growth of online shopping decelerated.