The volume of services rendered to Romanian households shrank by 9.1% y/y in the first half of the year (H1), a slight improvement from -9.9% y/y reported in Q1, according to the statistics office INS. For the same period last year, INS reported a marginal 0.2% y/y advance.

The decline in services consumption came alongside a 5.6% year-on-year fall in retail sales during the first half, with the non-food segment contracting by 7.6%. The simultaneous weakness in goods and services consumption points to a broader reduction in discretionary spending amid lower real incomes and greater uncertainty over household finances.

This year in the first half, the volume of services for households decreased significantly for the segments of gambling (-16% y/y), hairdressing (-13.9% y/y) and HoReCa (-12% y/y). While the decline comes after robust growth (+18.7% y/y) for hairdressing and positive growth (+1.5% y/y) for HoReCa in the first half of 2025 – the segment of gambling (-5.4% y/y in H1, 2025) keeps shrinking. This may reflect the effects of the social pressure seen in tighter regulations on the activity of gambling shops – but also the effects of the migration toward the grey online markets not covered by the statistics office.

In contrast to the three segments above, the tour operators’ activity has surged by 17.4% y/y/ This is in line with the larger volume of tourism services consumed by Romanians abroad and visible in the current account balance. However, the double-digit rise in tour operators’ activity this year comes after a deep 13.2% y/y contraction in the same period last year. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Tero Vesalainen/Dreamstime.com)