Fast-moving consumer goods sales advance 15pct in Romania in 2023

Sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in Romania advanced 10% in Q4 2023 and 15% overall, with macro-categories with the most significant increase being non-alcoholic beverages and household or personal care products, according to a NielsenIQ analysis.In Romania, for the first time in almost two years, the FMCG market volumes were no longer decreasing in Q4. According to the NielsenIQ analysis, the average increase in FMCG prices in Q4 was just 8.4%, as against Q1's 23.2%.Although inflation is decelerating in Romania, wage increases also slowed down, and Romanians' purchasing power remained low due to last year's inflation-wage gap.These two industries changed their promotional strategy in the last quarter of the year, both switching to more aggressive promotion as against the year before. Alcoholic beverages advertised on average 5% more than in Q4 2022, and personal and home care products 3% more than in the same period. Even though promotional efforts for these two categories were significant, the efficiency of offers decreased in Q4 2023 for all macro product categories, as promotion sales brought less incrementality than in the past.The channels with the most significant value growth in Q4 2023 were small format stores and discounters, with the latter already accounting for 20% of the total value of the FMCG market in Romania, confirming the tendency of Romanian consumers to keep their expenses under control by looking for stores with the lowest prices.   Another strategy that Romanians frequently resorted to in recent years is the purchase of retailers' private label products, which maintains their market share at 18.3% overall in 2023, a constant level compared from the previous year due to significant price increases for these products as well.The Romanian e-commerce market continued to grow in value in Q4 2023, mainly due to alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages categories, but growth was slower than the historical peak recorded in the previous quarter.Romanian consumers, as in other countries, are moving more and more fluidly between retail channels to meet their needs, and in 2024 companies will have to coordinate their online strategies with those in physical stores. Also, they should not focus exclusively on immediate growth, promotion excessively, as they can affect their long-term evolution. The balance between profitability and sustainability will be crucial to success in this new year of financial challenges.NielsenIQ is a market research company. NIQ was founded in 1923 and is a portfolio company of Advent International.