Romania’s retail sales cool down to +3.5% y/y in Q1
The retail sales volume index in Romania increased by 3.5% y/y in Q1, less than half of the outstanding growth rates in 2024 (+8.6% y/y), according to the statistics office INS. Slower disinflation and comparatively modest wage hikes…
iulian ernst · Journalist
· Updated · 2 min read
The retail sales volume index in Romania increased by 3.5% y/y in Q1, less than half of the outstanding growth rates in 2024 (+8.6% y/y), according to the statistics office INS. Slower disinflation and comparatively modest wage hikes contributed.
The food sales dropped by 2.0% y/y in Q1 (+3.8% y/y in 2024), but the non-food retail sales surged by 7.8% y/y in the same period – which was still half the 14.8% y/y advance in 2024. This indicates robust consumer confidence overall but more cautious spending among medium or lower-income households subject to wage restrictions in the first quarter of the year.
