PwC: Romanians expected to spend more in following six months due to inflation

  Almost three-quarters of Romanians (74%) see inflation as the main reason why they will spend more in the next half of the year, according to a survey published on Monday by PwC.The results of the PwC Voice of Consumer 2024 survey show that seven out of ten consumers are expecting in the next six months to spend more on food, clothing, DIY and travel.Better value for money and promotion offers are the two characteristics most appreciated by Romanian consumers when choosing a product, as well as by global consumers. Thus, 46% and 39% of respondents say that better value for money and promotion offers, respectively, would entice them to try out a new brand that offers the same type of products.In order to reduce their impact on climate change about 5 in 10 consumers are changing their purchasing habits by buying more sustainable products.According to the survey, 70% of Romanian consumers claim that advertisements via social media influence their purchasing decisions.The most popular social media app in Romania is still Facebook. Among younger users Instagram and TikTok are becoming more popular.Romanian consumers still prefer physical stores to buy food, clothes, books, electronics, but modern shopping methods are increasing. Monthly, 36% buy from physical stores, but a close percentage of 29% and, respectively, 31%, shop online via PC or via mobile.Mobile/contactless payment is preferred by 44% of Romanian consumers, similar to those in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and more than 38% globally. But only 28% Romanian consumers prefer self-checkout technology, compared to 34% in CEE and 38% globally.The percentage of the consumers who would prefer a fully automated store experience is similar in Romania and globally, of 25% and, respectively, 23%.In the Voice of Consumer 2024 survey, PwC surveyed 20,662 consumers in 31 countries and territories, including Romania.   The activities of cultural and artistic units in 2023   • libraries lent 19.2 million volumes to 2.4 million active users, an increase of 0.6 million volumes compared to 2022 and 57 thousand active users more than in 2022; • 19.1 million persons visited museums and public collections, 3.1 million persons more than in 2022; • performing arts and concert institutions and companies gave 24.1 thousand performances on national territory, attended by 6.1 million spectators, an increase of 2.6 thousand performances compared to 2022 and 1.9 million spectators more than in 2022.   Library activities   According to the National Institute of Statistics data, the network of libraries in operation in 2023 was made up of 8263 libraries (basic units), 109 units less than in 2022. The libraries put approximately 153 million volumes at the public’s disposal in 2023. In the urban area, 3259 libraries were in operation, with a book stock that amounted to 120 million volumes, and, in the rural area, although the number of libraries was considerably higher than in the urban area (5004 libraries), the book stock was much smaller, namely 33 million volumes.   The number of active users amounted to 2.4 million persons; their distribution showed that the use of school libraries (53.3%) and public libraries (34.8%) was predominant. The number of volumes lent to the various users amounted to 19.2 million volumes in 2023, 0.6 million volumes more than in 2022, with an average of 8 volumes/year for each active user.   The network of public libraries, accessible to the general public from all areas of the country and consisting of 1853 libraries (basic units), made available to the public approximately 42 million volumes of printed books and periodicals.   In 2023, based on the number of inhabitants1 , there were, on average, 10.3 thousand inhabitants per public library and 2.2 volumes of public library collections per inhabitant. An active user borrowed, on average, 11.5 volumes from public libraries.   The staff of libraries (school libraries are also included) amounted to 9240 persons at the end of 2023, with 90.8% of them being specialised staff.   • Museum and public collection activities   In 2023, the network of museums and public collections2 included 464 basic units (18 units more than in 2022), which made available to the public 33.5 million cultural and natural goods (713 thousand cultural goods more than in 2022). The number of visitors of museums and public collections, botanical and zoological gardens, aquaria and nature reserves recorded in 2023 amounted to 19.1 million persons, an increase of 3.1 million persons compared to 2022.   The number of visitors who participated in the ?Night of Museums” increased from 481 thousand persons in 2022 to 596 thousand persons in 2023. The number of staff that worked in the museum network2 in 2023 amounted to 7364 persons, with more than half of them being specialised staff.   • The activities of performing arts and concert institutions and companies   The network of performing arts and concert institutions and companies included, in 2023, 175 basic units, 3 units more than in 2022.   Performing arts and concert institutions and companies gave 24.1 thousand performances on national territory in 2023, attended by 6.1 million spectators. The staff of performing arts and concert institutions and companies at the end of 2023 amounted to 13199 persons, with 58.6% of them having specialised artistic functions.   • The activities of the publishing houses that issued newspapers and magazines   In 2023, 525 units that published newspapers and magazines operated, 14 units more than in 2022. The 300 publishing houses that issued daily and non-daily newspapers issued a number of 240 printed titles and 289 online titles. The number of titles of periodicals (magazines) issued in 2023 consisted of 1305 printed titles and 562 online titles. The staff of the publishing houses that issued newspapers and magazines amounted to 3209 persons at the end of 2023, with 74.4% of them being specialised staff. • Film production, cinema, radio and TV broadcasting activities   The national big screen film production3 in 2023 included 49 films (33 feature films and 16 short films). The cinema network3 included 103 cinema units, with 462 film projection rooms and 81.3 thousand seats. In 2023, 1590 films were distributed in cinemas. They were viewed by 13.0 million spectators (compared to 11.2 million spectators in 2022). In 2023, public TV stations 4 broadcast 61.3 thousand hours and public radio stations5 broadcast 168.9 thousand hours. In 2023, 310 private TV channels and 599 private radio channels were in operation.