Romania’s retail sales posted a 2.5% y\/y advance in May, resulting in an average 1.4% y\/y advance in April-May \u2013 a period that filters out the different Eastern holiday periods in 2024 and 2025. The retail sales thus decelerated after posting 3.5% y\/y growth in Q1 and an impressive 8.6% advance in 2024 when the government particularly pushed out the public pensions and wages.<\/p>\n
For the two-month period, the sales of non-food goods increased by 3.4% y\/y \u2013 versus a small 0.1% negative dynamic of the food goods sales. The sales of services contracted by 0.5% y\/y.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From a broader perspective, the seasonal and workday-adjusted retail sales in Romania have stagnated for the past nine consecutive months, with a slight downward trend observed from March to April this year.\u00a0The political turmoil has played a key role in households’ more austere spending.<\/p>\n
The pattern is likely to remain in place in June and the months to follow\u00a0<\/strong>as households take a more cautious position and the government implements measures with a direct impact on their purchasing power: a higher VAT rate and excise duties as of August and no public wage and pension hikes in 2026.<\/p>\n