Romanians are preparing for a holiday season with higher budgets compared to last year. According to a study by Raiffeisen Bank in partnership with Appinio, 65% of respondents expect higher Christmas spending in 2025, while approximately one in four Romanians (26%) estimate similar costs to 2024.
AI agent usage is rising, with 25% of organizations using Gen AI expected to deploy it by 2025, increasing to 50% by 2027.
The survey "GenAI for marketing: Fear or FOMO" (Fear Of Missing Out) interviewed more than 50 CMOs and marketing directors in Europe, Australia and the US.
The current talent landscape is marked by employees moving in short cycles from one employer to another in order to gain new experiences and thus upgrade their skills.
The study shows that data-related issues have caused 55% of the organizations to avoid certain Generative AI use cases.
AI is now largely accepted as key to future success in virtually every industry, and it is time for technology companies to translate the potential of AI into performance.
By 2030, Gen Z will be a key driver of the AI future, comprising 30% of global workforce.
Compared to 2022, consumers in 2023 and 2024 have adopted a more strategic approach, planning their purchases in advance.
Majority (90%) of firms surveyed have adopted AI into operations to some degree, but most remain in the early stages and 8% have not integrated AI at all.
Experts emphasized that cyber threats continue to evolve at a particularly accelerated pace, targeting both organizations and the human element within companies.
Romania has the seventh largest M&A transaction in Central and Eastern Europe in the first 9 months.The value of global transactions reached $1.6 trillion, up by 10%.
According to the study, the Responsible Behavior and Insurance Benchmark of Romania—55% of Romanians describe themselves as optimistic, while 15% adopt a pragmatic approach.
However, over 43% do not have savings set aside and are relying on their October salary or plan to take out a loan.
Almost 7 out of 10 Romanians have low self-esteem, and 66% do not trust other people, these being the main obstacles in people's personal development.
Another important aspect for the organizations' success identified by the study is reimagining the work, workplace, and workforce in line with technology developments (67%).
Gen Z save for pleasure and education (14%), while Millennials (56%). Best Agers (57%) want to be fully covered in case of unpredictable times.
72% of retailers aim to increase their store space, compared to 26% in 2022, with physical stores remaining a key element in the overall strategy.
Nearly 60% of respondents see the potential of e-invoicing and digital reporting for trade to simplify compliance.
An overwhelming majority of CFOs (87%) believe that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) will drive efficiency in the tax area, compared to only 15% in 2023.
Romania has a considerably higher rate of young people who make plans for their future (96%), among which 54% have well defined plans, compared to 40%, the European average.
Arobs Systems, part of the Arobs Group, has signed two digitalization contracts with Romanian government institutions worth a combined €8 million to the company.
Romania's trade balance deficit (FOB/CIF) for January-November 2025 reached €29.77 billion, down €299.6 million (-1.0%) compared to the same period in 2024, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
Retail trade volume in Romania remained flat in November 2025 compared to the previous month, according to the latest data released by Eurostat.
Erste Group has completed its acquisition of a 49% controlling stake in Santander Bank Polska and a 50% stake in Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych from Banco Santander for approximately €7 billion.
Romania's residential market is showing a significant acceleration in price growth compared to the European average, based on the Eurostat data for Q3 2025.