Bulgaria's consumer market in numbers (2026): a data briefing for foreign firms

Bulgaria at a glance

The table puts the main indicators next to the Netherlands, one of the EU's most developed consumer markets, and the EU-27 average. Each figure is the latest the source publishes.

Bulgaria holds about 1.4% of the EU's population, and the number is shrinking. The World Bank records 6,465,097 inhabitants in 2022 and 6,433,302 in 2025, a fall of almost 32,000 people, or 0.5%, in three years. Over the same period the Dutch population grew by 2.2%. A business plan that assumes a growing customer base needs a reason other than demography.

How wealthy are Bulgarian consumers?

It depends on the measure, and the difference matters for pricing. In current US dollars, GDP per head rose from US$14,000 in 2022 to US$20,328 in 2025, an increase of 45%, while the EU average grew by 24%. Bulgaria moved from about 37% to 43% of the EU level in three years.

Measured in purchasing power standards (PPS), which remove price differences between countries, the gap is narrower. Eurostat puts Bulgaria's real GDP per head at 26,300 PPS in 2024 against an EU average of 39,700, or about two-thirds. For household consumption alone, the figure is 19,300 PPS against 26,300, roughly 73% of the EU level.

The practical reading: Bulgarian households earn far fewer euros than western European ones, but each euro buys more locally. Willingness to pay for imported goods, whose prices do not fall to local levels, is the real constraint.

What do things cost in Bulgaria compared with the EU?

Eurostat's price level indices show how far Bulgarian prices sit below the EU average, and the distance varies sharply by category.

Goods that are traded across borders, such as groceries and clothing, cost close to the EU average. Locally produced services, such as restaurant meals, cost about half. For a foreign brand of packaged food or apparel, this means the shelf price cannot drop much below western European levels, while household budgets are much smaller.

Consumption volumes point the same way. Per head, Bulgarians consumed 2,200 PPS of food and non-alcoholic beverages in 2024, about 81% of the EU's 2,700, but only 400 PPS of clothing and footwear, half the EU's 800. Spending on restaurants and hotels came to 1,300 PPS against 1,900. Necessities hold up; the deepest gap is in clothing, a category priced close to EU levels and easier to postpone than food. Discretionary goods with near-EU prices are where pricing research earns its keep before launch.

How many Bulgarians shop online?

Online shopping in Bulgaria has grown quickly from a low base. Eurostat reports that the share of individuals who bought online in the previous 12 months rose from 30.9% in 2020 to 51.2% in 2025, a gain of 20.3 percentage points, against 8.9 points for the EU average. Even so, Bulgaria ranked 27th of 27 in 2025, behind Italy at 56.2% and well below the EU average of 73.6%.

Internet use itself is no longer the barrier. In 2025, 82.7% of individuals in Bulgaria used the internet every day, up from 46.5% in 2015. The gap between daily internet use and online buying is therefore about 31 percentage points: millions of Bulgarians are online every day but do not buy there. Why they do not, whether because of delivery, payment, returns or trust, is a question for a consumer research study, not something the statistics answer.

How confident are Bulgarian consumers right now?

Confidence is low and falling. The consumer confidence indicator, which Eurostat publishes from the national survey run by Bulgaria's statistics institute (NSI), combines the balance of positive and negative answers to questions about household finances, the economy and major purchases. It stood at −29.1 in October 2026, down from −23.8 a year earlier.

Bulgarian confidence is structurally lower than the EU average, so compare it with its own history rather than with other countries. Since 2019 the indicator has ranged from −36.6 in April 2020 to −15.0 in June 2024. The October 2026 reading is the weakest of the year and the sharpest monthly fall of 2026, down 3.1 points from September. For launches that rely on discretionary spending, that argues for testing price thresholds and tracking demand closely in the first months.

How digital are Bulgarian businesses?

For B2B suppliers and for anyone studying competitors, the business side matters as much as consumers. Eurostat data show Bulgarian enterprises with ten or more employees well behind their EU peers:

• 41.5% used any social media in 2025, against 63.6% across the EU and 83.8% in the Netherlands;
• 25.6% paid to advertise online in 2024, against 32.6% in the EU;
• 8.6% used at least one AI technology in 2025, against 19.9% in the EU.

A lighter digital footprint has two consequences for research. Competitor analysis based on websites, ads and social media will miss firms that sell mainly through personal networks and distributors. And B2B decision-makers are often easier to reach by telephone than through online panels. Our article on market research with AI looks at the AI adoption figures in more detail.

What does the local research industry look like?

Bulgaria has an established market research and polling sector. According to Eurostat's structural business statistics for NACE M73.2, it counted 591 enterprises and 3,674 persons employed in 2024, with net turnover of €182.8 million and value added of €114.0 million. Turnover grew by about 43% between 2021 (€127.4 million) and 2024.

The sector is labour-intensive and modestly priced by EU standards: turnover per person employed was €49.8 thousand in 2024, against €136.0 thousand for the EU. By turnover, Bulgaria ranked 15th among the 27 member states. Our comparison of Europe's market research industry explains why the Netherlands sits at the top of the same table, and the full series are in our research industry data.

What this means for a research plan in Bulgaria

The figures above translate into concrete design choices:

• Mix interview modes. Online panels miss people who are not online daily, about 17% of individuals in 2025. General-population studies usually combine CAWI with telephone or face-to-face interviews.
• Size the sample for subgroups. A national survey needs the same 385 interviews for ±5 points as a much larger country; budgets grow with the number of regions or segments you want to read. The sample size calculator shows the numbers.
• Adjust spend assumptions for price levels. Copying a western European spend per customer into a Bulgarian model inflates it, as our TAM, SAM and SOM example shows.
• Ask about prices in euros. Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, so price tests and spend questions can be asked in euros. When comparing with older survey waves, convert lev values at the fixed rate before reading trends.
• Translate and back-translate. Questionnaires should be written or adapted in Bulgarian by a native researcher, with examples and brand lists that reflect the local market.

A market entry study brings these elements together: demand, prices, channels, competitors and regulation, with a go/no-go recommendation. To scope one for Bulgaria, request a proposal with your category and timeline.