Romanians' expenditures for consumer goods increased by 5.4 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year, mainly due to the level of inflation, according to a GfK study. Regarding volume, a decrease of 1 percent was reported. Romania’s yearly inflation rate in December 2011, of 3.14 percent, was at the lowest level in the last 20 years, according to the National Statistics Institute.

The food segment went up 12 percent in value, mainly due to higher prices, while for personal care products and household goods, the year-on-year increase was 7 percent, and 6 percent respectively in 2011. Romanians spend 2 percent less on drinks, such as water, coffee, and juice. “Even if households purchase these products with a higher frequency, the average value of a bill is smaller by some 6 percent,” shows the GfK study.

Carbonated soft drinks are among the food categories with the highest decreases in volume - down 9 percent, followed by chocolate bars - down 8 percent, and instant coffee - down 6 percent. Spending on yogurt showed an increase of 6 percent in 2011.

The private label brands also went up last year, covering 9 percent of the market for value, from 7 percent recorded in 2010. Around 95 percent of the households in Romania purchased a private label brand at least once last year, and the categories that had the highest share in this segment continued to be cooking oil, and paper products, such as kitchen towels, and napkins, according to GfK. Private labels are low cost products sold under the retailers' own brands.

Across the country, modern trade also rose to account for 48 percent of the household expenditures in 2011, up from 45 percent in 2010. The most dynamic types of stores for value were the hypermarkets - up 16 percent and supermarkets - up 14 percent, mainly due to attracting more buyers.

The GfK study was conducted on a sample of 2,200 households in Romania.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com