Romania’s retail sales volume shrinks by 3.6% y/y in Q4 2025

Romania’s retail sales volume contracted by 3.6% y/y in the fourth quarter of the year (Q4) 2025 as the private consumption remained subdued, stagnating in seasonally adjusted terms some 4% below the levels seen in the first half of the year or in the last quarter of 2024, according to data published by the statistics office INS. Private consumption measured by this metric returned to the level of 2023 – even above, when it comes to the non-food sales.

The annual decline was steeper in the food segment (-5.1% y/y), while the non-food segment confirmed its resilience (-3.3% y/y), and the car fuel sales (-1.7% y/y) were less impacted by the drop in households’ real incomes.