Between April 1–21, 2025, Romanians shopping behavior was heavily influenced by Orthodox Easter preparations.

  • After a short-lived dip in early April, prices rose sharply from April 9 onward.
  • The average price per SKU reached 15.37 RON, up 4.5% from March.
  • Average basket value peaked at 52 RON on April 16, up 24% MoM.
  • Friday, April 18 was the top shopping day by volume (10% of units sold).
  • Peak shopping hours were 10:00–12:00, especially between 9:00–10:00 (≈10% share).

* Over 100 million anonymized grocery transactions analyzed. Based on actual behavioral and sales data, both in-store and online.

📈 Fastest Growing Categories (vs. March 2025)

Easter drove strong growth in seasonally relevant product groups:

  • Seasonal Gifts: +11.4% – Easter decorations and gifts flew off the shelves.
  • Suncare: +8% – First warm weekends activated early sunscreen demand.
  • Easter Seasonal Items: +2.9% – Egg dye kits, decor, cozonac molds.
  • Textiles & Home Decor: +1.9% – Table linens and napkins for family meals.
  • Ice Cream & Desserts: +1.2% – Warmer weather + gatherings fueled indulgence.

🟢 Core food staples like pork (+0.7%), beer (+0.23%), and vegetables (+0.29%) saw modest increases.

🔴 Declining categories included beef (-0.33%), pre-packed salads (-0.22%), and footwear (-0.58%).

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💸 Price & Spending Trends

  • Early April promotions (Apr 2–6) pulled prices ~2% below March averages.
  • Sharp rebound followed: from Apr 9, every category turned positive.
  • SKU prices reached 15.37 RON by late April (+4.5% MoM).
  • Shopper spend rose even faster: baskets hit 52 RON on Apr 16 (+24% MoM) as high-value categories aligned (pork, gifts, detergents).

⏰ When Romanians Shopped Most

  • Best shopping day: Friday – accounts for 19% of value, 18–19% of units.
  • Quietest day: Sunday – just 7% of total retail volume.
  • Hot hours: Morning rush between 10:00–13:00 (up to 10% per hour).
  • Calendar spikes: Apr 17–18 – driven by salary and Easter bonus payments.

🌍 Regional Breakdown

Where most of the shopping happened:

  • South: 21.89%
  • North-West: 14.86%
  • South-West: 14.57%
  • North-East: 13.92%
  • West: 13.83%
  • South-East: 11.58%
  • Centre: 9.35%

📍 Top cities:

  • Bucharest: 6.3%
  • Timișoara: 5.9%
  • Cluj-Napoca: 3.8%

🏆 Top-Selling Products & Categories

By Units:

  • Vegetables: 7.4%
  • Sweet snacks: 5.7%
  • Beer: 4.8%

By Value:

  • Pork: 5.8%
  • Vegetables: 5.4%
  • Carbonated drinks: 5%
  • Beer: 4.8%

Top SKUs (by value):

  • Pork shoulder: 6.3%
  • Boneless pork leg: 6.0%
  • Bananas (loose): 4.6%

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