No surveys. No biases. Only truth from billions of transactions. Actionable Insights with Retail Media.
May 2025 was anything but ordinary. With presidential elections, abnormal rains, and early Children’s Day spending, shoppers danced between caution and celebration. But what’s clear from the data is this: Romanians spent less per visit, went to stores less often, and still paid slightly more per product by month’s end.
Unaccustomed to the kind of persistent rain typical in Northern Europe, Romanians spent more time indoors, leading to a noticeable drop in supermarket visits and shopping volumes. After two weeks of heavy rainfall and electrical storms, shoppers made a strong return under clear skies — with sun protection product sales skyrocketing over 300%, showing both rapid adaptation to sudden weather shifts and growing awareness around skin health and UV protection.
Meanwhile, the May 1st mini-holiday brought its usual spike in alcoholic beverages and grill-friendly products — though the unpredictable weather dampened enthusiasm, and consumption rose less than expected compared to previous years. Toward the end of the month, ahead of Children’s Day, sales of toys, kids’ clothing, and party decorations surged — a clear sign that Romanian parents remain deeply connected to the meaning of June 1st.
Despite lower basket values and fewer trips, demand held steady in categories tied to family meals, child-focused planning, and early summer habits. Suncare rose. Fish and salads spiked. But gifting, décor, and indulgent goods took a hit — proving that practicality and predictability now lead the cart.
What Just Changed. And Why It Matters
119M anonymized transactions from +7Mn. households. That’s not a panel — that’s the pulse of a nation.
- The basket value dropped sharply compared to April. Households focused on lower-volume, high-need trips.
- Visit frequency softened — elections, rainfall, and price friction dampened weekly traffic.
- End-of-month pricing pressure appeared across SKUs — with average unit prices rising ~1.9% MoM.
- Essentials spiked mid-May after the first election (May 4) — then declined post-runoff (May 18).
- Suncare (+398%), Salads (+45%), and Fish (+64%) led growth — a pivot toward early summer habits.
- Gifts, indulgent goods and décor all declined sharply — discretionary spending took a back seat.
- Weekend spikes in artisan goods and gifting ties directly to Children’s Day prep (June 1).
Dan Marc
How Shoppers Chose — Category Dynamics
Top 5 Growth Categories (MoM):
Suncare exploded — a +398% surge shows emotional readiness for summer despite heavy rain. Fish, salads, and grocery staples surged, reflecting fresh-prep meals, indoor cooking, and kid-focused planning. Street food growth hints at convenience cravings in unpredictable weather.
Top 5 Declining Categories (MoM):
Major pullback on symbolic and discretionary spending — gifts, décor, and shelf-stable goods lost ground fast. Pork’s decline (–17%) suggests consumers are shifting toward lighter proteins or reacting to price volatility after early grilling-related spikes in April.
How Shoppers Chose — Product by Product
Category Sales Highlights
Where the Money Went — Category by Category
In May 2025, Romanian spending wasn’t impulsive, it was strategic. Shoppers recalibrated their baskets around freshness, family routines, and indoor practicality. Fish replaced pork. Salad kits outpaced canned vegetables. Essentials like oil, flour and sugar surged right after the first election round — then retreated as stock fatigue set in. Children’s Day influenced sweets and ice cream, but weather and wallet caution kept most indulgences modest.
Despite a drop in basket value and visit frequency, Romanians didn’t stop spending — they simply shifted focus. May’s top-performing categories by sales value paint a clear picture: comfort, convenience, and category tradition still hold power, but behavioral nuances signal a deeper change.
Beer, dessert drinks, and vegetables led national value, confirming that Romanians favored everyday rituals and household-centric purchases over discretionary splurges.
Pork remained in the top five by value, even after a -17% MoM drop, showing just how embedded it remains in the Romanian food economy.
Across all categories, the data shows a nation making financially stressed and incertitude powered decisions, driven by environment, and events. This wasn’t a month of high volume. It was a month of high intent.
Key Insights:
- Beer and dessert drinks topped the chart — combining indulgence with habitual consumption. These are social, repeatable categories that survive even during price increases.
- Vegetables and fruits ranked 3rd and 5th in value share, reflecting fresh-prep behavior, home-cooking missions, and weekday replenishment.
- Pork stayed high in absolute sales value despite sharp MoM volume drops, proving the power of legacy buying habits in traditional households.
- Other top value drivers include bottled water, yogurt, cheese, and energy drinks — all tied to short-trip missions, kids’ meals, and convenience-driven baskets.
- Street Food didn’t appear in top value, but grew +60% MoM — an emerging, low-ticket, high-frequency category worth activating.
- Fresh produce and salad kits became weekday heroes — +45% MoM in salads confirms the rise of practical, health-oriented meal prep missions across proximity stores.
- Children’s Day reshaped sweets and desserts — Ice cream and dessert categories grew without major promo support, driven by emotional planning and social gifting moments.
- Cleaning and home care decelerated — Hygiene urgency is fading. Brands must reposition around freshness, family care, and lifestyle relevance.
- Kitchen appliance attention held, but slowed — Coffee machines, air fryers, and mixers performed better in urban hubs but didn’t spike like April, indicating equipment saturation in high-income homes.
Actionable Retail Media Insights for Brands:
- Anchor media in high-share habitual categories — Beer, dessert drinks, yogurt, and cheese thrive on memory, not just price. Target repeat buyers with smart, behavior-led creative.
- Push fresh produce with weekday planning logic — Use Footprints AI timing data to hit baskets Tuesday to Friday, when vegetables and fruits peak in intent.
- Use legacy categories (like pork) to test loyalty vs. innovation — Run split creative to measure price retention vs. product substitution in loyalty segments.
- Map short-trip basket behavior to media exposure — Energy drinks, water, and yogurt index high in convenience store data. Use in-store screens and mobile retargeting for proximity-based buys.
- Don’t confuse value with growth — Street Food, Suncare, and Household Essentials may not top share yet, but their velocity MoM is unmatched. Use Footprints AI to prioritize acceleration, not just scale.
- Leverage kids-meal influencers for dairy and dessert drinks — Children’s Day proved the emotional power of these categories. Behavioral targeting can recreate this effect weekly, not just seasonally.
- Push freshness framing in cleaning and dairy — Shelf stability isn’t aspirational anymore. Shoppers now seek real utility and low-waste usage in home care and chilled goods.
- Bundle kitchen appliances with seasonal stories — Use proximity store audiences and weekend missions to link tools (coffee, mixers, fryers) with rituals (brunches, holidays, child-centric gifting).
- Target salad and fresh veg audiences as weekday fixers — These shoppers are time-sensitive, health-driven, and repeatable. Ideal for dynamic retail media on in-store screens and apps.
Meat & Processed Meats
- Fish led growth: +64% MoM, driven by increased freshness appeal and lighter spring habits.
- Turkey meat and packed sausages rose moderately, tied to indoor meals and budget alternatives.
- Pork fell –17% MoM, reversing April’s BBQ boom — weather, price fatigue, and lighter diets drove the decline.
- Beef showed slight gains (+13%), likely a substitution effect within high-income baskets.
Dairy & Eggs
- Milk, butter, and cheese categories grew modestly, but overall volumes slowed after April’s baking wave.
- High shelf-stability dairy products performed below expectations — fresh outpaced long-life.
Bakery & Sweets
- Ice Cream and Desserts rose slightly (+25%), likely driven by Children’s Day proximity and late-month indulgence.
- Packaged bakery held steady. Chocolate and sugary treats remained flat, with minor bouncebacks around weekends.
Base Foods & Cooking Ingredients
- Household Grocery Essentials jumped +54% — especially oil, sugar, and flour — with a clear spike after May 4 elections.
- Rice, beans, pasta stayed flat or declined slightly post-stock-up, consistent with pantry saturation patterns.
- Canned vegetables and fruits dropped over 30% — rapid overbuying followed by disuse.
Drinks
- Coffee and cola saw moderate growth in convenience baskets — driven by early weekday missions.
- Alcohol trended neutral; elections and rain subdued social purchase behaviors except around weekends.
- Water and 3-in-1 products performed as stable anchors but didn’t drive spikes.
Home Care & Cleaning
- Cleaning products remained flat to mildly positive, with demand peaking before the second election round.
- Disinfectants and sprays performed below average, suggesting declining concern for hygiene triggers.
Who Is Buying – Life Stage & Demographics
In May 2025, Romanian commerce leaned heavily on female-led, 25–54-year-old shoppers, split between intent-driven young professionals and resilient mid-life planners. These segments favor frequency, planning, and targeted indulgence — but demand relevance, speed, and value.
Life stage analysis confirms the need for behavioral segmentation — not just age or income. Young singles and single parents, though smaller in share, offer high elasticity for experimentation, targeted promotions, and retail media precision.
1. Gender:
- Female shoppers dominated
- This confirms women remain the primary household planners, especially in proximity and essential categories.
2. Age Segments:
- The 25–34 segment led transaction volume, followed by 45–54 and 35–44.
- This spread indicates two main forces:
- Young urban professionals and new families (25–34) dominate quick missions and essentials.
- Established planners and traditional households (45–54) who drive bigger baskets and category consistency.
3. Life Stage Segments:
- Young Singles and Mature Singles show high solo participation, ideal for indulgent categories, convenience formats, and digital activations.
- Single Parent Families and Young Couples are niche but highly responsive; price- and time-sensitive.
- Solitary Survivors represent a quieter yet consistent segment — often stable in essential spending but low-frequency.
