You went in looking for a pair of shoes. You came out with shoes, a candle, a book and a jacket you hadn’t planned on. And, honestly, you’re not upset with yourself. Sound familiar?
Well, you’re not the only one. And, for the first time, there is a study that explains why.
The mall changes our plans. And it knows how to do it.
The Mall Effect Index, the first study in Romania to have measured over the last three years what really happens in shopping centres, discovered something fascinating: 64% of respondents stated that they purchased something influenced by an advertisement seen at the mall, and only 57% admitted that they came with this intention to the mall.
Researchers called this difference the Conversion Gap. In short: we buy more than we acknowledge. And the mall is where this happens.
157 min. That is how long a person spends on average in a mall before making an unplanned purchasing decision. As long as a film. Researchers gave it a name: The Golden Moment.
The Golden Moment is that point in the visit when everything aligns: what you’ve seen, how you feel, what you like. It’s not impulse. It’s not manipulation. It’s simply what happens when you’re present, relaxed and surrounded by beautiful things.
“When we go to the mall, we are much more open to discovery and purchasing decisions than in other contexts. For the first time, this effect can also be quantified.” Răzvan Marincoi, creator of The Mall Effect Index
The mall is no longer just about shopping. It’s about life.
The 2026 data shows a beautiful shift: we go to the mall increasingly more for people, not just for products.
42% of visitors state in 2026 that they come to the mall for socialising, compared to 35% as stated by respondents in 2025. A significant increase in just one year.
45% come for cinema, compared to 36% as stated by respondents last year. The mall has become, practically, the most popular urban entertainment venue in Romania.
177 min. Generation Z spends almost 3 hours at each mall visit, more than any other age group. For them, the mall is the social space of their generation.
The study data shows that 55% of Romanians go to the mall at least once a week. Not by chance, not occasionally, but weekly, as part of their routine.
The secret of smart shoppers: why it’s worth touching the product before ordering it online
You’ve done this too: you saw something online, you went to try it in the store, you checked how it looks, how it feels and only then you decided. Or the other way around: you discovered something in the store and ordered it online for less.
69% of study respondents stated that they test products in store before ordering them online. The physical store does not compete with the internet, but complements it.
The study confirms what many of us already felt: the physical and digital experience go hand in hand. You touch, you try, you validate and then you decide. Regardless of where the final transaction takes place.
We spend more. And we don’t regret it.
According to data extracted from the study, the average spend per mall visit reached 383 lei in 2026, 17% more than two years ago, an increase that exceeds the inflation rate. It’s not about higher prices. It’s about real purchasing power on the rise.
One conclusion would be that Romanian women and men from major cities spend more at the mall and do so consciously, deliberately, with pleasure.
