In 2023, Romanians spent $33.6 billion in grocery stores and $319 million in online food retail, according to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) analysis.
Food retailers continued to dominate the retail market in terms of value in 2023 as well, with Romanians traditionally allocating a significant portion of their monthly spending to food. Thus, last year, consumers left $33.6 billion in physical grocery stores, 46% more than a year ago, and $319 million in online grocery retail, 28.8% less than in 2022 , according to the study.
The value of retail sales for processed foods will grow by 14% in 2023, reaching $1.3 billion. Meat and seafood substitutes were the best performing category in 2023, with retail value sales increasing 15% to $54.7 million.
In 2022, according to the same source, Romanians spent a total of 22.9 billion dollars in offline food retail and 448.5 million dollars in online food retail.
The local offline market is dominated by 10 large players, almost all of them world-class, while only two large companies operate in the exclusively online grocery market – Freshful, part of the eMag group controlled by the South Americans from Naspers, and Sezamo, an online supermarket , part of the European Rohlik group, one of the leading e-grocery companies in Europe with activities in the Czech Republic (Rohlik.cz), Hungary (Kifli.hu), Austria (Gurkerl.at) and Germany (Knuspr.de).
“Inflation and the rising cost of living continued to be a challenge for retail in Romania in 2023. Rising energy and utility prices and all prices in general led consumers to adjust their budgets and buy only the essentials. Purchasing power reduced has also shaped the buying behavior of consumers who have mainly turned to goods on offer and promotions, thus reducing the expenditure per basket.Thus, while price increases have led to a positive increase in the value of sales with retail, they have been a challenge for retail volume sales,” USDA analysts say.
By store type, USDA analyzes that supermarkets will continue to remain popular, with growth driven by consumers’ need for proximity and a wide selection of products. They will also meet the demand for cheaper products by continuing to develop private label options for an increasing number of goods.
The post Romanians Spent $34 Billion at Grocery Stores Last Year appeared first on The Romania Journal.
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