Hypermarkets are currently the main food shopping outlets for around 18% of domestic consumers, a share that increased from 11% in early 2006.
Hypermarkets have left supermarkets behind in Romanian consumers' preferences, according to a survey Gfk market research institute and Incoma Research (Czech Republic) conducted on the Central and East European market.
Supermarkets, where 22% of Romanian consumers used to do their food shopping in 2006, lost ground to the other forms of modern trade, but also to specialised stores that saw their weight increase in consumers' preferences. Thus, 16% of consumers said supermarkets were the outlets they went to most frequently to do their food shopping, the survey Gfk and Incoma Research conducted at the end of last year and early this year shows.
This could be explained by the fast-paced expansion of hypermarket networks, for which 2006 was the most lucrative year. These reached 38 operational outlets at the end of last year, almost four times more than in the previous period.
In turn, discount store networks doubled their number of outlets last year, to over 100, and also managed to get consumers' attention. Gfk and Incoma Research survey points out that around 8% of Romanian consumers do their shopping in a discount store, from less than 1% in 2006.
Cash & carry stores, another modern trade format, make up the main food shopping location for 11% of Romanian consumers, double the percentage posted last year, according to Gfk data.
Specialised food stores also made considerable headway in consumers' preferences, with more than 8% of consumers choosing them as a shopping location, from around 2% in 2006.
The most dramatic decline was registered on the segment of mini-markets, which has seen its weight in consumers' preferences shrink to 6% from 12% last year.
Traditional (convenience
