The retail stores in Romania and Lithuania will boast the highest growth rates in sales this year, 7% and 5.9% respectively, but the purchasing power of the buyers in these countries remains among the lowest in Europe, resulting in lower productivity for retail spaces here, shows a GfK study.

The consultancy company estimates a 2% average increase in retail business in the 27 EU countries (less the UK).

Compared to the average productivity of EUR 7,250 per square meter of retail space in Luxembourg (the highest in European Union), or EUR 6,430 per sqm in Norway, the retail spaces in Eastern Europe yield much lower sales: between EUR 2,680 per sqm and EUR 2,760 per sqm in Romania, Poland and Bulgaria.

The eastern countries also rank low in terms of retail spaces per capita: Romania has only 0.73 sqm of retail space per capita, up 1.7% from last year, compared to an EU average of 1.13 sqm per capita.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Pixabay.com)