A woman wearing gloves as protection against COVID-19 crosses a street in Bucharest, carrying her shopping. Photo by LCV / Shutterstock.com

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco grew 15.1% annually in March. Sales of non-food products remained unchanged, while those of motor vehicles in specialized stores fell 8.8%.

On a month-on-month basis, retail sales fell 3.6% in March, following a 0.9% decrease in the preceding month. On an unadjusted basis, retail sales gained 3.9% annually in March and rose 5% from the prior month, INS said on May 6.