Georgia’s consumer market today mirrors global retail trends, with purchasing behavior shifting and competition intensifying across all segments. Speaking at the parliamentary committee reviewing food prices, Agrohub’s Commercial Director, Ani Gakharia, outlined how the local retail sector is now divided into three main groups.
According to her, the first segment is hard discounters, which operate with a limited assortment of about 800–1,200 product units and focus heavily on high-volume sales. Their purchasing power is strong, enabling deep discounts. The second segment includes medium-sized retail chains with around 3,000–6,000 product units. Although their regular shelf prices tend to be higher, increasing competition forces them into frequent and aggressive discounting.
The third segment is hypermarkets and large-format stores, where the assortment begins at 10,000 product units and expands across almost all categories, including electronics. These retailers provide a wider selection, different pricing strategies and a broader shopping experience.
Gakharia emphasized that any form of discount, cash-back, or price reduction is directly tied to purchasing volume, importers and distributors invest more heavily in chains that buy large quantities. She also noted that consumer behavior in Georgia has changed significantly as people travel more and gain exposure to global retail. Expectations have grown: many shoppers demand high-quality fresh products and diverse choices, while a separate group remains highly price-sensitive and “chases discounts.”
She added that although discounters offer deeper discounts, retailers like Agrohub provide a much wider assortment, a different service standard, and stricter quality control. According to Gakharia, Agrohub’s customers are extremely sensitive to quality, and even minor mistakes are not forgiven -making quality assurance the company’s highest priority.
