Romanian e-commerce market valued at EUR 2.8 bn at end 2017

The Romanian e-commerce market is valued at EUR 2.8 billion at the end of 2017, up by around 40 percent year-on-year, based on figures and estimated of the main Romanian e-commerce players and GPeC.

According to the report, Romanians spent an average of 7.67 million euros every day in 2017, for online shopping.

The e-commerce share of total retail: 5.6 percent

The increase of approx. 40 percent year-on-year, recorded by the Romanian e-commerce market, is one of the highest in the European Union. The value of the e-commerce market in the total retail market is around 5.6 percent, up from 4 percent in 2016. However, the percentage is still small compared to the developed countries, but it shows the huge potential for growth of the Romanian e-commerce market.

44 percent of urban internet users shopped online at least once a month

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According to a study by GPeC and iSense Solution, 44 percent of urban internet users shopped online at least once a month, and 62 percent of them are 18-34.

Online buyers visited 9 stores last year, on average with a frequency of 3-4 times a week, while non-buyers visited 5 online stores within 12 months, with a lower frequency (1 per week). In other words, online stores are visited quite often even by those who have not purchased something yet.

The main reasons of those who did not buy online are, in order: mistrust in the products displayed on the website; lack of possibility to see and test the products before the purchase; mistrust in the quality of online shops and the obligation for payment of additional shipping charges.

On the other hand, online shoppers prefer shopping online because: it saves time; the supply of products is richer; they can easily compare products; it is cheaper and more convenient online.

Over 7,000 online stores in Romania

The number of online stores increased significantly from approx. 5,000 stores in 2016 to over 7,000 online stores in 2017. According to eMAG officials, the growth trend will continue in 2018 and the number of online merchants will double to around 14,000 – 15,000.

According to the latest research, there are already about 25,000 .ro e-shops that have an “add to cart” tool, so they can be considered as online stores – but their low traffic makes them insignificant in Romania. Thus, only 7,000 stores are sufficiently relevant in terms of traffic and orders.

The main product categories sold in 2017 and the average order values

The top categories of products sold online in 2017 (excluding e-tail) are, in decreasing volume order: Electro-IT & C products (e.g. PC and PC components, notebooks, tablets, mobile phones, electronics and home appliances etc.); Fashion & Beauty products (clothing, footwear, accessories, cosmetics, perfumes, watches, etc.); home deco products, books and children’s products (from toys to children’s items such as trolleys, clothing, consumables etc.).

The ranking is similar to the year 2016, but according to estimates of the main players, the Fashion vertical is growing faster and will surpass the Electro-IT&C products in approx. 5 years, becoming the main category of products traded online in terms of generated volume. Also, the Home&Deco product line has a tremendous growth potential.

An important conclusion of 2017 is the increased value of online purchases, explained by increases of wages in the country and, therefore, consumers purchasing better quality products. Also, the number of products purchased during one visit on the website increased and, implicitly, the average value of transactions increased.

As for the Electro-IT&C segment, the average basket value increased from RON 669 in 2016 to over RON 800 in 2017, with some peak moments during the year (e.g. Black Friday) when the value was near or even exceeded RON 1,000.

Significant increases in the average basket value were also recorded in the Fashion segment, from RON 161 in 2016 to RON 250-300 in 2017, with some peak moments during the year and the type of products (brand products – where values ​​are higher vs. non-brand producs – where values are lower).

In the Home & Deco category, the average transaction value is similar to the 2016, of approx. RON 480.

70 percent of e-shops’ traffic is generated by mobile phones

“Mobile” continued to be the main trend of 2017, and the trend will continue in 2018. The main online Romanian stores have seen significant increases in traffic generated by mobile devices: approx. 70 percent of site visits are from mobiles, 20 percent higher than in 2016.

Card payments increased, but pay on delivery is still king

The preferred method of payment for Romanians remains the pay on delivery (approx. 85 percent). However, according to the information provided by mobilPay and PayU, the percentage of online card payments has increased significantly, from approx. 8 percent in 2016 to 12-14 percent in 2017. The difference of 1-2 percent up to 100 percent is given by other payment methods such as online banking, micro-payments via SMS etc.

According to estimates, the total amount of online card payments exceeded EUR 1.2 billion in 2017, up from 2016, when it was EUR 745 million (source: RomCard).