Only 20% of modern retail spaces in Romania located in smaller cities, analysis says

Small and medium-sized cities offer significant expansion opportunities on the Romanian retail market, as only about 20% of the country’s modern retail stock is located in cities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants, according to an analysis performed by the Cushman & Wakefield Echinox real estate consultancy company.

Nationwide, the modern retail stock reached approximately 4.93 million sq. m across 191 projects exceeding 5,000 sq. m, including shopping centers, retail parks and commercial galleries.

The geographical distribution of these spaces highlights a concentration of these projects in Bucharest and major regional cities. Bucharest accounts for approximately 1.35 million sq. m of such spaces across 40 projects, representing 27% of the national stock. A comparable volume of 1.33 million sq. m is concentrated in the seven cities with populations between 200,000 and 300,000 inhabitants, while a further ten cities with populations between 100,000 and 200,000 inhabitants account for 1.30 million sq. m.

Combined, the 18 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants have a share exceeding 80% of Romania’s modern retail stock.

In comparison, the 24 cities with populations between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants have approximately 768,000 sq. m of modern retail spaces, representing 16% of the national total, while cities with less than 50,000 inhabitants account for only 179,300 sq. m, or 3.6% of the country’s stock.

“Smaller and medium-sized cities give retailers room to expand their networks and reach new customers, yet a project’s success will rely more and more on local purchasing power, accessibility and a tenant mix tailored to community needs. We anticipate that developers will become increasingly selective, with correct project sizing and strong commercial positioning playing an essential role,” said Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency.

According to the Romania Marketbeat Retail Q3 2026 report, almost 70,000 sq. m of new projects were delivered during the first nine months of the year. The pace of completion slowed down in the third quarter, when only two retail parks totaling approximately 11,000 sq. m were finalized. Nationwide, more than 500,000 sq. m of retail spaces are currently under construction or in various planning stages, with completion expected by 2029.

In the third quarter, Romania's economy contracted 0.8% year-on-year, inflation stood at 6.8%, and retail sales fell 3.9% compared with the corresponding period last year.

Nevertheless, prime rents remained broadly stable during the third quarter, in line with the levels recorded in previous periods. In Bucharest, the benchmark rent for high-street retail units on Calea Victoriei and in the major shopping centers stood at EUR 90/sq. m/month. In the main regional cities, rents for 100–200 sq. m ground-floor retail units from dominant shopping centers ranged between EUR 50 and EUR 65/sq. m/month.