In a year marked by restructuring and uncertainty on the labour market, more and more companies in Romania no longer see team experiences as an optional benefit, but as a retention tool. This is the main shift that Complice.ro, curator and provider of experiences for companies and individual customers, sees in its data for the first half of 2026. The company recorded a turnover of more than EUR 500,000 in the first half of 2026, up 88% compared with the same period last year.

Corporate: experiences move from rewards to retention and loyalty-building

For years, the budget for a team experience sat under the "reward" category: a nice gesture, but an optional one, often among the first to be cut when budgets tightened. Complice.ro's data for the first half of 2026 shows that this logic has changed: more and more companies now treat experiences as a retention tool, both for employees and for partners and clients.

The growth in the corporate segment is mainly driven by Complice.ro's existing clients, which have allocated budgets for experiences dedicated to teams and business partners. This evolution contrasts with the general market trend, as most companies in Romania have reduced or reorganised spending in this area: fewer events, shorter formats, smaller numbers of participants, while some companies have temporarily given up such initiatives altogether.

"The situation is the same for everyone: smaller budgets, uncertainty, pressure on any cost that is not strictly critical. The difference lies in how each company reacts to it. Many of our clients are large companies in IT, retail, real estate or financial services, which feel the crisis less and have chosen to work with fewer suppliers, but trusted ones, instead of spreading the budget across several providers. In practice, we have become their partner for this type of decision, beyond being an experience provider. And I see something very concrete: companies that have already included these experiences in their retention strategy do not cut them from the budget at the first sign of pressure, because they know exactly how much it costs to replace a good employee they want to keep close," says Oana Pascu.

At the same time, the type of projects being implemented has also changed. While in previous years most corporate initiatives were one-off projects, linked to an event or a special occasion, in the first half of 2026 companies more often ordered projects integrated into recurring, well-established programmes, rather than isolated events. In practice, the decision to invest in a team experience no longer comes from an events calendar, but from an HR or marketing strategy.

An important part of this growth also comes from projects dedicated to top business partners, such as off-road or sailing events in mixed teams, challenge-based routes or themed treasure hunts, as well as private tastings organised abroad for strategic partners. These projects are on a completely different scale from a classic team building, with considerably higher budgets, and they have remained a priority for companies this year as well.

"This year, we have received many more requests for spectacular experience-based projects dedicated to very important business partners. Companies invest in relationships with strategic partners precisely during difficult periods, because that is where the trust they need to navigate these times more easily is built," says Oana Pascu.

Residential: desire remains, frequency decreases, average order value holds steady

In the individual customer segment, both the number of orders and turnover are slightly below the 2025 level, while the average order value remains stable at around RON 590, similar to the same period last year. High inflation, the depreciation of the leu, the wave of corporate restructuring and political uncertainty directly affect people's purchasing power and their willingness to spend money on things that do not represent an immediate or necessary need.

"Order frequency is decreasing, but the average value of an order placed on the website remains almost constant. In practice, people are not giving up on the idea of offering an experience as a gift; they are simply doing it less often and choosing more carefully. We see this clearly in the growing preference for Flexibox, where you choose the package but leave the exact experience to the person receiving the gift, and for the gift card, which has gained a lot of ground recently. At the same time, the decline in purchasing power is slowing down the tendency for experiences to become part of everyday life. For now, they remain a solution for events and special occasions, such as wedding or relationship anniversaries, wedding gifts, gifts for godparents, civil ceremonies or milestone birthdays," says Oana Pascu.

Among individual experiences, the best-selling ones in the first half of the year remain, to a large extent, those with a strong track record in the Complice.ro portfolio. A stay at a manor house in Prahova, with a wine tasting experience, and the similar winery option confirm the steady appetite for one-day or weekend escapes focused on wine and gastronomy. The 30-minute flight in a light aircraft near Bucharest and the Boeing flight simulator experience remain constant choices for those looking for a memorable moment with controlled adrenaline, while the hot rod ride and floating therapy, designed for deep relaxation, complete the top, confirming that interest in both thrill-based and wellbeing experiences remains just as strong.

*This is a press release.