Household consumption of consumer goods dropped by 4 percent in Romanian currency in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period of last year, which is the first decline in the last ten years, found a study by GfK Romania. “This is the first decline in the last ten years, during which the year-on-year growth rates varied between 7 and 25 percent. In a less friendly economic and political context, consumers paid fewer visits to stores, supermarkets being among most affected,” said Raluca Raschip, consumer tracking director with GfK Romania.

Personal care products and household care products have been among the most affected, with spending drops of 7 and 4 percent respectively. Deodorant sales dropped by 21 percent, universal cleaning products, by 19 percent, chocolate by 18 percent, mainly due to a decrease in the number of buyers.

Modern retail formats got 45 percent of households spending during the first half of the year, compared to 43 percent in the same period of 2009. Discounters remain the most dynamic retail formats, with a growth rate of 11 percent, while supermarkets are on a decreasing trend, with a drop og 9 percent compared to the first half of 2009.