Romania’s retail sales close to pre-crisis levels

The retail sales in Romania rose by 4.8% year on year in July when they nearly reached pre-crisis levels.

The 3.9% annual growth rate adjusted for workdays and seasonality was the strongest in the European Union (EU).

EU members posted a 0.8% average annual decline in retail sales. The retail sales dropped even steeper, by 1.3% in annual terms, in the euro area - where the share of discretionary spending, more elastic to consumer confidence, is higher.

In July, the seasonally-adjusted sales in Romania were 2.6% below the pre-crisis benchmark (February) as the tourism sector's incomplete reopening dragged down car fuel sales by 10.5%. Food sales were also 2.6% below the February benchmark, but the non-food sales were 3.9% higher in July compared to the pre-crisis level.

In annual terms, the overall retail sales accelerated (from +2.9% year on year in June), driven by the double-digit (+10.7%) advance of the non-food sales. Notably, the online sales (included in the non-food sales by the statistics office, although this might not be the case all the time) surged by 48% year on year, making a significant contribution to the overall growth. It is worth noting that the online sales, seasonally adjusted, have not declined after the lockdown period - but maintained the growing pattern.

Food sales increased by only 4.3% year-on-year as of July while fuel sales were down 3.7%.

From a broader perspective, the retail sales in Romania in the first seven months of the year increased by 1.2% compared to the same period of 2019, versus an average annual growth rate of 2.8% projected by Banca Transilvania for the 2020-2022 period.

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