Romanians spend some EUR 500 million in hypermarkets and supermarkets before Easter, according to an analysis by local financial newspaper Ziarul Financiar.

The period before Easter represents about 5% of the trade recorded in one year. By comparison, the period before Christmas accounts for 10-15% of the total consumption in modern retail, which is some EUR 9 billion a year, ZF writes.

The first data provided by retailers show that Easter sales are similar this year or have slightly increased year-on-year. This shows that the VAT cut announcement as of June 1 has not yet led Romanians to consume more.

editor@romania-insider.com