Retail sales in Romania fell by 4.7% year-on-year in May 2026, easing from a downwardly revised 6.2% drop in April. Although this was the tenth consecutive month of contraction in retail activity, the pace of decline slowed. The improvement was driven mainly by a smaller decrease in sales of automotive fuel in specialized stores (-2% vs. -2.2%). Turnover also contracted less sharply for food, beverages, and tobacco (-4.3% vs. -6.1% in April), as well as for non-food products (-5.3% vs. -7.6%).
On a monthly basis, retail activity rose by 1.3% in May, rebounding from a downwardly revised 2.4% decline in the previous month.
