• Home
• Channel: Shopping
• Pandemic Impact on Shopping Habits Lingers

Pandemic Impact on Shopping Habits Lingers

• 4 Aug 2021 9:31 AM
• Hungary Matters

Hungarians did their shopping more frequently during the third wave of the pandemic than during the first, but still made fewer trips to the store than before the coronavirus crisis, a survey by food safety authority Nébih shows.

The representative survey, conducted in May, shows the percentage of Hungarians who did their shopping just once a week rose from around 17% to over 52% during the first wave of the pandemic.

That ratio dropped to a little over 40% during the third wave.

The percentage of Hungarians who shopped exclusively online increased from under 1pc before the pandemic to nearly 10% during the first wave, and still stood close to 7% during the third wave.

The survey shows Hungarians keep close to 35kg of food and almost 16 litres of beverages in their refrigerators and pantries.

Over 31% of respondents said they had gained weight in the past year: close to 5kg, on average.

Almost 40% said they did less moderate exercise.

• How does this content make you feel?
• I love it
• I like it
• I dislike it

• Pandemic Shopping Habits

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

Electronic Payments Increasingly Popular With Shoppers in Hungary

• 22 Sep 2026 6:09 AM

Paying by card or other electronic methods is becoming increasingly routine for consumers in Hungary, with electronic payments accounting for 46% of all payment transactions in 2025, according to a report by the National Bank of Hungary.



Sale of Tesco Hungary Reportedly Moving Forward

• 5 Aug 2026 9:13 AM

The possibility of Tesco leaving Hungary appears to be moving closer, with fresh reports suggesting that the British supermarket group’s Hungarian business could be sold separately from its neighbouring Central European operations.



Tesco to Close Major Budapest Hypermarket

• 27 Apr 2026 11:45 AM

Tesco is shutting down one of its prominent Budapest hypermarkets, marking another visible step in the reshaping of Hungary’s grocery retail landscape.



Xmas Gift Spending Trends in Hungary Revealed

• 17 Nov 2025 1:25 PM

Half of Hungarians have already begun their Christmas shopping or plan to start in November, while roughly a third expect to hit the shops in early December, according to a new nationwide survey by Yettel examining gift-giving habits.