Full stores and half-empty shopping carts. This is the picture in one of the hypermarkets in the center of Bucharest on the day the first budget-fiscal measures of the Ilie Bolojan government came into force in Romania. They include higher VAT and higher excise taxes and led to the biggest wave of price increases since the crisis in 2010, local media noted.
Probably because of this, customers are now more cautious and, unlike other times, are not in a hurry to fill their shopping carts to the brim, BTA saw on site. Many are forced to rethink their budgets and exclude some products from their list.
„What can I expect from this small pension? "Hunger," says an elderly woman in front of a dairy display case, while another adds, "We're trying to make ends meet. We've been through these times before. Of course, I'll have to give up something. I have no other choice," as she weighs a kilo of bananas on a scale.
But prices are not rising everywhere. Yellow labels invite customers to products and goods with reduced prices. In an effort to retain customers, some large chains of stores, restaurants and entertainment venues have announced that they will not raise prices for the time being, despite the VAT increase. To mitigate the impact of the strict budget measures, they are offering promotional prices on some products and services or vouchers, coupons and loyalty cards for future purchases.
The question, however, is how long economic operators will sacrifice their profits in an economic context full of uncertainty, experts in the country comment.