Comerç electrònic a Romania

E-commerce

E-commerce market

According to the European Ecommerce Report 2017, Romania has one of the biggest e-commerce industries in Southeastern Europe. E-commerce represents 1.2% of GDP. In 2017, Romanians purchased US$ 3.2 billion worth of products online, at least 40% more than the previous year, not including services, tickets, bookings, holidays, etc. On average, consumers made 8.4 online purchases in 2016, and there are more than 7,000 e-shops in the country, a number that is expected double by the end of 2018. There are currently 10.26 million e-commerce users in Romania, out of which 3% are cross-border shoppers. Furthermore, about 8 in 10 shoppers live in cities, and 44% of urban Internet users made at least one purchase a month. The biggest online stores in Romania are eMAG.ro, Altex, Domo and Elefant. As for how Romanians make online purchases, most prefer computers and laptops, but the number of people using their smartphones to shop is increasing. In 2017, 18% of people shopped online using a mobile device. Romania has one of the fastest e-commerce growth rates in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of the number of visits from mobile devices, with an average growth of 41%. According to data from GPeC, the 90% of online consumers in Romania prefer to pay cash-on-delivery. But when it comes to utilities payments, travel, event tickets and other online services, paying using cards is the preferred method (according to mobilPay and PaU processors, online card payments have increased from 8% in 2016 to 14% in 2017). Total online card payment was valued at US$ 1.4 billion in 2017. The average online shopper is between 25 and 35 years old. Regarding B2B e-commerce, IT, home appliances, the auto sector, deco, fashion and related agricultural products have the largest share in Romania, the last two areas recording accelerated growth. Electronics & media is currently the leading product category in Romania, accounting for US$ 788.1 million market share, followed by fashion, which generated US$ 538.3 million in sales. Romanians are primarily looking for free and fast delivery, discounts and free returns (even though the law leaves the cost of the return to the shopper). Some of the most popular e-commerce websites in the country include olx.ro, emag.ro, altex.ro, pcgarage.ro, Aliexpress, and Amazon.