Romanians spent EUR 36 billion in large retail chains in 2023

According to the Romania Retail Snapshot 2024 by the Cushman & Wakefield Echinox real estate consultancy company, Romanians spent EUR 36 billion in large retail chains last year, 11% higher than in 2022. FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) spending accounted for EUR 22.5 billion.

The second largest share (EUR 3.6 billion and 10% respectively) pertained to DIY stores, followed by Electro-IT (EUR 3.3 billion and 9%), and Fashion retailers (EUR 2.2 billion, 6.1%).

At the other end, Jewelry (EUR 212 million, 0.6% of total sales), Footwear (EUR 356 million, 1%), and Cosmetics (EUR 458 million, 1.3%) retailers had the lowest shares in the shopping basket analyzed in the report.

The 2023 annual turnover growth rate was slightly above the annual inflation rate (10.4%) and slowed down compared with 2022, when the corresponding spike was 16.3% vs 13.8% inflation.

All the analyzed retail segments recorded higher YoY turnovers in 2023, with the largest increases being reported by Cosmetics (33.5%), Specialized Stores - pet shops, newsstands, tobacco, specialized drug stores, etc. (20.4%), Kids & Toys (17.5%) ,and Food & Beverage (14.5%) retailers.

The analysis was based on the financial results of 116 companies from 12 different retail segments. Together, the retailers in question have more than 6,000 stores in Romania, located mainly in shopping centers, retail parks and commercial galleries.

The lowest turnover growth rates in 2023 (below the average annual inflation rate) were reported by the DIY (3%), Home &Deco (4.8%), Jewelry (6%), Electro – IT (8.3%), and Sports (8.6%) segments.

All the other segments recorded sales growth rates above inflation: 12% FMCG, 12.3% Footwear, and 11.3% Fashion.

“The retail market performed very well throughout last year despite the fact that 2023 was the second consecutive year with a double-digit inflation rate. Therefore, all the segments from our snapshot recorded sales increases compared with 2022, most of them above inflation,” said Vlad Săftoiu, Head of Research, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

“Moreover, an expanded analysis of the entire 2019 – 2023 period shows that the average CAGR (compound annual growth rate) for the major retail operators (11.5%) was clearly above the average annual inflation rate during the same timeframe (7.9%). The forecast for this year is also positive, considering the official public data, which illustrates a consistent retail sales growth compared with the same period in 2023,” he added.

The average annual sales growth rate from 2019 to 2023 exceeded the average annual price growth for most categories (11.5% vs 7.9%), with the exception of Footwear (6.3%) and Home & Deco (6.8%). On the other hand, the Cosmetics segment experienced the highest surge in this period (17.8%), followed by specialized stores (17.3%).