The Mall Effect Index (MEI) reached a score of 70 points on a scale of 0 to 100 in 2026, marking the third consecutive year of growth, up from 65 in 2024 to 67 in 2025. Romanians in major cities reported spending an average of 383 lei per mall visit, 17% more than two years ago, an increase that exceeds the cumulative inflation rate over the same period. The conversion rate for indoor advertising reached 64%, an all-time high in the three years of measurements, and the conversion gap of +7 percentage points indicates that more people are actually making purchases than those who say they intend to do so.
The Mall Effect Index (MEI) is the first initiative in Romania that longitudinally tracks consumer behavior in shopping malls. Developed by Generatik in collaboration with Reveal Marketing Research, this index aims to bring more clarity to an area that has been insufficiently measured until now: real consumer behavior in shopping malls and the role the mall plays in purchasing decisions.
Built upon three waves of research conducted between 2024 and 2026, the index offers the first coherent insights into how consumption operates in Romanian malls. Until now, the market has primarily had fragmented data on traffic, sales, or reach, but very few integrated tools that track the same type of behavior using the same methodology from one year to the next.
„The Romanian market has sales data, traffic data, and reach data. What it hasn't had until now is a tool that measures the same behavior, using the same methodology, year after year. Without that, you don't know if what you're seeing is a real trend or a year-over-year variation.” explains Marius Luican, founder of Reveal Marketing Research, emphasizing the methodological continuity of this approach.
From the perspective of advertising effectiveness, approximately 8 out of 10 visitors reported seeing advertisements in the mall during their visit; this represents the exposure rate, the first sub-index of the index, which measures how many visitors come into visual contact with indoor advertising. 64% of respondents stated that they made a purchase as a result of an advertisement seen inside, representing the conversion rate, the only sub-index that measures actual behavior, not self-reported intent. However, the index’s surprise indicator remains the difference between stated intent—what people say they will do after seeing an ad—and actual purchasing behavior: more respondents stated they actually made a purchase (64%) than said they intended to do so (57%). This 7-percentage-point gap, known as the Conversion Gap, shows that the influence of mall advertising extends beyond consumer awareness and that the mall functions more as a space for decision-making and purchasing, not just for exposure. At the same time, recall of indoor advertising—that is, the extent to which visitors exposed to advertising retain something of what they saw—has increased for the third consecutive year, a rare phenomenon in Romania’s media landscape.
The influence of indoor advertising appears at a specific moment of the visit, defined by the authors as the „Golden Moment,” the point at which context, exposure, and purchase readiness align.
„The conversion gap is the golden gram that mall advertising adds to the relationship between brand and consumer. When we go to the mall, we are much more open to discovery and purchase decisions than in other contexts. For the first time, this effect is starting to be quantifiable.” explains Răzvan Marincoi, Product Manager Generatik, Creator of The Mall Effect index.
The 2026 study data outlines a more active urban consumer who spends more compared to previous years. The average spending per visit reached 383 Lei, exceeding the cumulative inflation rate for the analyzed period. The data suggests that physical malls remain the primary point of contact and validation in the purchasing process, decisively influencing the final choice, even when the transaction later moves online.
The data also indicate a change in urban consumer behavior: the mall remains a relevant commercial space but is increasingly acquiring a social dimension. At the same time, consumers appear to be becoming more efficient, spending more in shorter visits.
„After three consecutive years of tracking, the actual conversion rate for mall advertising reached 64% in 2026, the highest level since we began tracking. At the same time, average spending has increased, and ad recall is growing every year. We’re no longer talking about a snapshot. We’re talking about a structural trend that positions the mall as one of the most effective communication channels in Romania”explained Răzvan Marincoi, Product Manager at Generatik, Creator of The Mall Effect index.
The project authors emphasize that The Mall Effect Index is an evolving initiative, built on three years of comparable measurements. Derived from a larger study on consumer behavior and based on declarative responses collected using the CAWI method, the index currently provides an overview of consumption trends in malls.
The Mall Effect Index marks a shift in perspective in how the industry can understand consumer behavior in malls: from measuring volumes to the mechanisms behind the purchasing decision. Based on three years of comparable data, the index already outlines a first benchmark for brands and marketers, for media agencies, for investors and mall operators, and is preparing to reach a higher level of granularity. In editions 4 and 5, the analysis will be developed through dedicated studies and expanded with differentiations by mall types, cities, and consumption categories, built together with all stakeholders.