The bar chart compares the proportion of food and goods that were purchased in supermarkets across three European countries over a decade, from 1998 to 2008.
Overall, both food and goods were bought more in supermarkets across all three countries over the period, with the most significant sales increase recorded in Country 1. Additionally, at the start of the timeframe, Country 2 had the highest consumption of both goods and food, while by the end, it was Country 1.
Regarding food, in 1998, Country 2 was the leading nation at about 25%, which was much higher than the figures for Country 1 and 3, with their respective percentages reaching 10% and 5%. Despite ranking second in the first year, Country 1 then experienced a dramatic surge to 40% by 2008. A similar but less pronounced tendency was observed in the proportion of food bought in Country 2, which rose modestly to approximately 35% by 2008. Country 3 showed the slowest growth to roughly 10% by the final year, thereby remaining the lowest throughout.
In terms of goods, in 1998, families in Country 2 purchased about 40%, while those in Country 1 and 3 bought considerably less at 20% and 2%, respectively. The most substantial increase was exhibited in Country 1, which surpassed Country 2 to reach 60% by 2008, while Country 2 experienced a similar but to a lesser extent rise, ascending to approximately 28% in the same period. Although Country 3 saw a relatively rapid growth, its figures were consistently the lowest over the period, rocketing to approximately 14% by 2008.