Romanians slash consumer goods budgets but still keep several items on their shopping lists

Romanians have cut their budgets for consumer goods compared to last year but several products still stay at the top of their shopping lists, such as water, medicine, sweets, coffee, according to Daedalus Group. Around 60 percent of Romanians have said they buy less this year than they did last year. Romania's expenses for consumer goods dropped by 4.5 percent during the first eight months of the year, compared to the same period of last year, according to a study by GfK Romania. Romanian consumers have reached the lowest level of pessimism in the last 12 months, according to GfK Romania. Average income households have made the biggest cut in daily basket expenses, mainly on beverages and personal care products. Romanian have started to buy more of retailers' private label products, which registered an increase of two percentage points in the weight of total sales. Of all the products in Romania, the edible oil market is an atypical one, with 65 percent of the existing promotions failing to mention the previous price. The price of oil very much depends on the international evolutions and the market is dominated by promotions which don't mention the initial price, according to GfK representatives. editor@romania-insider.com