This influx represents 80% of the entire projected new supply for 2024, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Despite no completions in Q1, this accelerated pace has brought the modern retail stock in Romania to 4.7 million sqm, with a density of 250 sqm per 1,000 inhabitants, which remains among the lowest in both Europe and the CEE.

Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, said: “Developers are focusing on large-scale projects with mixed-use and entertainment components which respond to new consumer behaviors. At the same time, the digitalization of the shopping experience and the integration of online-offline channels will become key differentiators in commercial offerings. Moreover, the sustained growth in retail sales, especially in the non-food segment, in an economically volatile context, encourages new investments”.

Meanwhile, developers are eyeing significant expansion, with plans for over 600,000 sqm of leasable area in projects expected to be delivered by the end of the decade. 

This optimism is fueled by strong retail sales growth, which increased by 3.5% in Q1, largely driven by a 7.8% rise in non-food product sales. Moody's rating agency forecasts an average yearly retail sales growth of 3% in Romania until 2030, significantly higher than the 1% anticipated for the Eurozone.

The retail sector continues to attract real estate investors, with over €110 million in retail properties transacted in Q1, accounting for more than 64% of the total investment volume during that period. All these transactions occurred outside Bucharest. 

Prime shopping center and high street rents remained stable in Q1, with monthly values ranging from €90 to €60 per sqm in Bucharest and €50-65 per sqm in secondary cities like Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, and Constanța.