Visitors to large shopping centers in European Russia have increased the share of their spending on groceries and alcohol to 24% of total purchases, up from 22% a year earlier, according to data from the management company Sampa cited by Kommersant.
The share of non-food purchases fell over the same period from 8% to 5%, while spending on dining out dropped to 6%. Russia's state statistics service Rosstat records a similar trend: in January–March 2026, residents of Russian cities spent on average 32.1% of their income on food, compared with 32% a year earlier. Spending on housing and utilities rose from 10.7% to 12.2%, while spending on non-food goods fell from 30.2% to 29.3%.
Experts interviewed by the newspaper say the growing share of spending on food indicates a decline in purchasing power, as consumers redirect spending toward the most essential categories. Grocery store turnover in malls grew 4–6% year on year, while spending on beauty and health, children's goods, household appliances and electronics declined.
The reduction in spending at non-food stores is dragging down overall mall turnover, the newspaper's sources note. According to asset management expert Marina Tolstosheeva, the profitability of large malls no longer exceeds 6–7%. Grocery hypermarkets pay rent at a preferential rate of 1.5–3% of turnover, while other stores pay 8–15% and small retail outlets 20–25%.
Earlier reporting said that from the start of July 2025 through the end of June 2026, 2,300 retail outlets closed in Moscow shopping centers. Between 50% and 60% of the closures were clothing and footwear stores.