Identifies common practices to be aware of when selling in this market, e.g., whether all sales material need to be in the local language.
Last Published: 8/11/2017

In general, Moldovans seek bargains and are price sensitive, but quality and payment terms are increasingly playing a critical role in purchase decisions.  This is, however, not to say that higher-end items or services, especially recognized brands, will not sell at higher prices, particularly among the fashion-conscious youth.  American goods enjoy a good reputation, but are not widely available on the local market.  A commonly held opinion among local business people is that, because the United States is at a great distance from Moldova, final prices on many U.S. products shipped to Moldova will be higher than those for similar European products.

Although the official language is Romanian, many businesses use or even prefer Russian.  The language preference is determined by a person’s background, origin, age and education.  In some areas of the country, Russian is preferred .  Having your product-related materials translated into Romanian or Russian (or both) is a big advantage.  By law, businesses must provide product information for consumers in Romanian.

Typically, one distributor or agent is enough to cover the entire country.  Moldova is a relatively small market and therefore does not need extensive investment in developing distribution logistics.  Provided you have a good partner, poor infrastructure will be the major challenge.

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