Trade: Study: Romanian consumers remain stressed but show renewed interest in durable goods

A new study by iSense Solutions finds that the pressure felt by Romanian consumers increased in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the beginning of the year, and remains at alert level. Romanians are facing higher prices, political instability, health concerns and a tense international context at the same time. However, the study also points to a new signal: nervousness is declining, while purchase intentions for big-ticket items are recovering.   The Consumer Stress Score remained at alert level in Q2 2026, rising slightly from 63.3 in Q1 to 65 in Q2. Worries about price increases and the country’s economic situation rose from 87% in Q1 2026 to 91% in Q2, placing financial concerns at the top of all measured categories. News about global epidemics, with hantavirus among the most visible in the media, and military incidents linked to the war in Ukraine, some of which also affected Romania, contributed significantly to the increase in the stress score in Q2. Concerns about personal and family health rose from 81% in Q1 to 86% in Q2, while worries about personal and family safety increased from 75% to 80%. Distrust in Romania’s political and public authorities also remained high in Q2, at 61%, compared to 58% in Q1. Government instability and negotiations without concrete results continued to fuel this perception, according to the study authors. Despite the high level of consumer stress, nervousness declined from 27% in Q1 2026 to 23% in Q2. According to the study, this may indicate the beginning of stronger consumer resilience and a degree of adjustment to a difficult and prolonged context.   “The data from Q2 2026 shows a consumer who has not escaped pressure, but has learned to live with it. The decline in nervousness, combined with a slight increase in purchase intentions for durable goods over the next three months, suggests that Romanians are moving from a phase of shock to one of adaptation,” said Traian Nastase, Managing Partner at iSense Solutions.   In terms of consumer behaviour over the past three months, Q2 continued to show a tendency to buy smaller quantities of products, at 67%, and to go out less often in order to save money, at 78%. At the same time, 8 in 10 Romanians looked for discounts in retailers’ apps, a share similar to Q1.   Against this backdrop, 55% of urban Romanians said they had bought cheaper brands in Q2 2026. The share of those buying more expensive brands is on a downward trend, from 26% in 2025 to 23% in Q1 2026 and 18% in Q2, confirming that spending caution is also affecting the premium segment.   Looking at purchase intentions for the next three months, the holiday period brought a slight increase in planned spending on renovations, from 30% in Q1 2026 to 35% in Q2, as well as on furniture and decorations, from 26% to 30%.   Q2 2026 also brought stronger interest in durable goods purchases over the next three months, with 24% of respondents saying they would probably or certainly buy such products, compared to 18% in Q1.   According to the study, Romanian consumers are not necessarily calmer this year, but have become more accustomed to the situation. Prices remain high, the political environment is unstable and the global context remains tense, but the way people respond has changed: panic has eased, nervousness has declined, and plans for postponed purchases are beginning to reappear cautiously. For businesses, the message is clear: caution and recovery are advancing in parallel. The Consumer Stress Score is a quarterly index developed by iSense Solutions and calculated on a scale from 0 to 100. The study is conducted online in the second month of each quarter, on a sample of 500 respondents representative of Romania’s urban population aged 18 to 65.   CSS measures stress across five dimensions: financial stress, health and safety stress, psychological stress, political stress and technological stress. The indicator is correlated with consumer attitudes and behaviours adopted by respondents in response to their mood.   Data was collected in February for Q1 and in May for Q2. The margin of error for Q2 is ±4.2%, at a 95% confidence level.