Mapping Today to Shape Tomorrow: Why the Retail Census 2025 Matters More Than Ever

At RDM, we believe real decisions start with real data.

And that means asking a hard question: how well do we actually understand the retail landscape we operate in?

The Retail Census 2025 is complete, and what we’re seeing is both surprising and necessary. In a post-pandemic world shaped by inflation, local expansion, and shifting shopper behaviour, it’s no longer enough to rely on old assumptions.

Many are still making decisions based on data from 2022 or earlier. But here’s the reality: Romania’s retail landscape has changed too much, too fast for that to work.

At RDM, we’re offering the most up-to-date retail universe mapping available, built on store-by-store field data. Not estimates, not projections, but real profiles gathered by our team across the country.

RDM has evolved into one of the most complete retail observation systems in Romania and the numbers speak for themselves:

• 2.5 million+ individual measurements every month

• ~67,000 data points every single day

• 3,200+ cities tracked

If a store exists in Romania, it’s already in our database:

• 20,000 surveys/month

• 248 field auditors

• 100% digital collection

• Real‑time dashboards

• Proprietary Shelf Share methodology

  
  

Census 2025: What It Really Is

Let’s be clear. This is not a sample. This is a full, audited map of every physical retail location in Romania that fits the FMCG profile: modern or traditional, urban or rural, national or independent, emerging or established.

Each location is profiled with:

• GPS and geolocation

• Outlet type and format (hypermarket, proximity, convenience, drugstore, HoReCa, etc.)

• Category presence and assortment

• Infrastructure and store layout

• Changes in ownership, format, or operation since the last census

In total, we’ve mapped tens of thousands of retail outlets, giving brands and retailers a real, current, competitive view of what’s happening on the ground.

Why 2022 Data No Longer Cuts It

Yes, 2022 was only three years ago. But in retail, that’s an eternity.

Since then, we’ve seen:

• The rise of regional players gaining ground against national chains

• Hybrid formats (e.g. proximity stores with pharmacy products) becoming mainstream

• HoReCa regrowth, particularly in urban centres, after years of pandemic contraction

• Continued decline of shelf space density in traditional trade, but not its disappearance

In fact, traditional trade still represents around 30% of FMCG sales, despite being widely dismissed by some strategies. It's not just surviving, it's adapting. But where, how, and in what formats? Census 2025 answers that.

Why It Matters Now: Decisions Can’t Wait

Brands and distributors today are dealing with more complexity than ever. Distribution costs are rising. Consumer expectations are diverging by region. And HQs are asking for “national coverage” without seeing that regional density varies wildly.

• A format that performs well in Cluj-Napoca may struggle in Galați.

• A top-tier HoReCa client in Bucharest may have no equivalent in Bacău.

• The “growth category” in one region may be nearly invisible in another.

And yet, many campaigns still launch with the same list of “must-hit” stores from 2022, or worse, with incomplete views of where their products aren’t present at all.

What You Gain from a Fresh Census

For brands, Census 2025 helps:

• Detect unlisted stores that match your product profile

• Prioritize where to push new listings

• Spot gaps in traditional trade or HoReCa presence

• Refine sales targets by real geographic and format density

For retailers, it’s a tool for:

• Benchmarking against regional peers

• Adjusting mix and layout based on actual shopper needs

• Understanding competitive saturation nearby

• Attracting supplier partnerships with better retail data

And for distributors, it offers:

• Smarter route planning

• Optimization of sales force allocation

• Better territory planning across new and growing outlets

  
  

It’s a Map for Action

Census 2025 doesn’t sit in a drawer. It powers real business tools:

• Live dashboards for category teams

• Retail universe heatmaps for commercial planners

• Filtered outlet lists by product fit, growth trend, or regional opportunity

Everything is filterable, visual, and actionable. And it’s built with:

• 155 trained auditors on the ground

• 12 Area Managers and 3 Regional Managers for validation

• Full GPS and timestamp verification

• Digital questionnaires for real-time QA

It’s the same methodology used in our retail audits and store-level services, only at national scale.

The Landscape Has Shifted. Have You?

Let’s recap what we’re seeing:

• Density differences are sharper than expected, the west and centre of the country are surging, while others are stagnating.

• HoReCa is bouncing back, particularly in high-footfall areas and tourist regions

• Format overlap (e.g., convenience + pharma) is reshaping how categories compete

• Channel dynamics remain fragmented: Modern Trade gets the attention, but Traditional Trade still holds major ground and often with more loyal shopper bases.

If your 2025 strategy still leans on assumptions from the past, now is the moment to course-correct.

Let’s Rethink Coverage Together

Whether you’re building a listing roadmap, a trade plan, a sales strategy or a marketing campaign, it’s time to base it on what’s real, not what used to be.

Retail Data Monitoring offers full access to Census 2025 and the analytical layers that make it usable:

• Secondary placements and shelf visibility data

• Promotion footprint audits

• POSM effectiveness across store formats

• In-store execution benchmarks

Want to explore how the retail map has changed in your category or region? Get in touch with RDM!