Comerç electrònic a Azerbaidjan

E-commerce

E-commerce market

E-commerce has been rapidly developing during the last few years. According to the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technology, retail e-commerce turnover in 2017 amounted to USD 27 million, growing by 180% compared to 2016. The country ranks 68th in the B2C ecommerce index of the UNCTAD. The growing number of ATMs has increased the level of e-commerce to the market, and some B2B websites have also appeared. The number of credit and debit card transactions is rising, and many hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and mid-range shops increasingly accept credit and debit card payments. Many shippers, however, are reluctant to send goods without pre-payment, and e-commerce is limited by a lack of clear and effective legislation, as well as the prevalence of the shadow economy. One of the key issues the government is working on is the development of Internet-banking, mobile banking and popularization of non-cash payments, which should further boost e-commerce development. The Ministry of Taxes has pushed retail business to install Point of Sale (POS) devices, but given that the economy is still cash-based, many small retail business have not utilized them. Some of the most popular e-commerce websites in Azerbaijan include elan.az, konttakt.az and hepsiburada.com. Cross-border e-commerce is still developing. The vast majority of items bought from foreign websites consist of mobile phones and computer parts. According to The State Customs Committee, the government is currently working on ensuring effective legal e-commerce regulation, preparing new bills. The main focus of the e-commerce development plan are statistics, business-customs cooperation and capacity-building in developing new data collection technologies.