Fridays lead Romanian spending while Saturdays drive retail traffic, analysis shows
Romanian consumers follow an increasingly predictable spending rhythm, with clear differences between weekdays dedicated to stocking up, weekend shopping, and premium purchases, according to a Global Payments analysis of card transactions made in Romania between January and April 2026.
Friday is the day when Romanians spend the most, across almost all industries analyzed. In supermarkets, total card payments on Fridays exceeded RON 171 million during the analyzed period, while the average basket value reached approximately RON 107.
Fuel stations showed the same pattern, with Fridays generating the highest number of weekly transactions, worth more than RON 35 million. The average Friday transaction reached approximately RON 125. In the jewelry and watches category, Friday brought both the highest number of transactions and the highest total payment values, with the average transaction exceeding RON 560.
Friday was also the day Romanians invested in their “intellectual luxury,” according to the analysis, spending more than RON 800,000 in bookstores during Fridays in the analyzed period. The average transaction reached approximately RON 90, suggesting that customers rarely left bookstores with just a bookmark.
The Friday effect was also visible in fashion and footwear stores, where the average transaction reached RON 157. Friday had effectively become the official day for stocking up, planned shopping, and weekend preparation.
If Friday is the day for stocking up and planned purchases, Saturday brings the highest traffic of the week, especially in retail, services, and special-occasion shopping. Approximately 1.5 million card transactions were recorded on Saturdays in supermarkets and grocery stores. The average transaction value, around RON 90, remained below Friday’s level, while the total value of purchases reached approximately RON 133 million.
Saturday was the busiest day for car washes, where traffic exceeded Friday levels by approximately 18%. It was also the day when Romanians visited florists more often, with the number of transactions more than 40% higher than on Fridays. The average Saturday purchase in florists reached RON 120, the highest value of the week, suggesting that weekends also came with more spontaneous purchases.
In fashion and footwear, Saturdays brought fewer transactions than Fridays, but more substantial purchases: the average transaction climbed to nearly RON 180, the highest level of the week, and around 14% higher than on Fridays. If Fridays were for buying “what you need,” Saturdays were for buying “what you deserve.”
Global Payments’ analysis further showed that Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays consistently generated the highest average transaction values in specialized industries and premium categories.
Mondays and Tuesdays recorded the highest number of appointments at the dentist, while on Tuesdays, the average transaction exceeded RON 680. Wednesdays were for choosing glasses, as this was the day with the highest number of card transactions in the optics and eyewear category, totaling approximately RON 3.2 million in payments. The average Wednesday transaction reached nearly RON 680 in this category as well.
Jewelry and watch stores also experienced strong midweek activity, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays bringing some of the most valuable purchases of the week. The category’s record day was December 23, a Tuesday, when Romanians spent nearly RON 800,000 on jewelry, five times more than the average daily level.
Thursdays and Fridays brought some of the highest average transaction values in medical and physiotherapy services, associated with complex treatments and premium services. In physiotherapy, for example, the average transaction could exceed RON 800 on Fridays.
Even when it came to pets, shopping tended to be more planned than impulsive. In the pet shop category, the number of transactions remained relatively constant from Monday to Thursday, but Tuesday stood out with the highest average transaction value: approximately RON 112.
(Photo source: Vlad Ispas|Dreamstime.com)
