Raluca Radu (ANSWEAR.ro) returns at BR’s re:FOCUS on eCommerce, Retail & Logistics

Raluca Radu, Country Manager, ANSWEAR Romania, returns as a speaker at re:FOCUS on eCommerce, Retail & Logistics 2022 edition, after also being part of BR’s landmark retail & logistics conference in 2021. In anticipation for Business Review’s first event of the year, we sat down with Raluca Radu for an exclusive preview of the Romanian e-commerce scene in 2022.

How has the e-commerce sector evolved in Romania in 2021, the second year of the pandemic?

According to estimates provided by GPeC and ARMO, we expect the e-commerce market to exceed the total sales value of EUR 6 billion. In terms of periods this year, sales fluctuated a lot – if the months after the relaxation of restrictions (May-August) saw a slight decrease in online, the end of the year coincided with an increase in sales and the number of online visitors amid the tightening of restrictions.

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Raluca Radu (ANSWEAR.ro): E-commerce has become a habit for Romanian shoppers

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How much did e-commerce sales increase in 2021 compared 2022? Do you expect a new record this year?

We estimate that the online sales growth in 2021 compared to 2020 will be around 15%. It is not a record growth like in 2020, but we can still see the upward trend in e-commerce, which will continue in 2022.

How do you see the evolution of the retail sector in Romania in 2022, taking into account 2 scenarios: The continuation (intermittent waves) of the pandemic or its extinction at a certain time this year?

First of all, it is important to point out that the e-commerce market in Romania still has a lot of room for growth, and we expect the trend to be upwards regardless of the evolution of the pandemic. This estimate is based on the fact that the e-commerce rate in total retail in Romania is only around 10% while in more developed markets it is even higher than 20%. If the pandemic continues at the same pace, we can expect an increase of at least 20% in 2022.

What do you think will be the trends in e-commerce in Romania in the medium and long term?

In the medium term we expect e-commerce to reach at least 15% of total retail sales in Romania. The conversion rate we expect to keep the upward trend (it reached 2% last year on average) and we expect other verticals such as fashion, home & deco, children’s products and beauty and cosmetics to start growing much more and to outperform the electronics and appliances category.

About Raluca Radu

Raluca Radu is a Senior Digital Marketing & E-Commerce Manager with over 15 years of experience in digital strategy, online marketing, SEO, PPC, affiliate marketing, conversion rate optimization, Google Analytics. She has been the Country Manager of Answear Romania since October 2015, overseeing the launch of the online fashion shop operations and business in Romania and its subsequent growth.

At heart, Raluca is a passionate Digital Marketer, dedicated to growth hacking and launching or building businesses and brands in competitive markets. Before her current position at Answear, she held various other roles such as Co-Founder at How-to-Web, Country Manager Romania OLX.ro & Autovit.ro, Marketing Director at F64, Founder & Head of Digital Marketing at MTH Digital, and Co-Organizer of GPeC, one of the most important E-Commerce events in CEE. She is a graduate of the Politehnica University of Bucharest, with a degree in IT Engineering and Computer Science.