STUDY. E-shoppers from neighboring countries, interested in the offers of Romanian online stores

The e-commerce markets in the vicinity of Romania have lately become more and more interesting for online stores that want to expand their businesses, because the majority of e-shoppers here show maximum interest in the offers from foreign websites . A study carried out by DPD Romania, which analyzed the profile of e-shoppers from 8 neighboring EU countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary) shows that the top most sought-after products are Fashion items (69 % in the Czech Republic and Slovakia), Footwear (over 60% in Poland and Bulgaria) and Beauty/Health Care products (over 50% in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria). The most active e-shoppers in the studied markets, who make online purchases from foreign websites, are those from Slovenia (80%) and Hungary (77%), according to the cited study.

Footwear is the star product in 4 of the 8 e-commerce markets analyzed in the DPD Romania study - Poland (64%, EU average 49%), Bulgaria (61%), Slovenia (54%) and Hungary (53%) -, while Fashion items are first in the preferences of e-shoppers in the other three markets: Czech Republic and Slovakia (69%, EU average 63%), respectively Croatia (65%). Regarding Beauty/Health Care products, Romania is the only market in the region that has this category of products in first place (64%); in the other 8 markets studied, they are in third place, with percentages between 56% (Poland) and 43% (Slovenia). The situation in Croatia is interesting, where, along with Beauty/Health Care, two other product categories are on the "podium": those for leisure, respectively accessories and jewelry (49%).

Next in the list of preferences of e-shoppers from the 8 countries studied are books, highly sought after in Poland (50%), Bulgaria (47%), Hungary (37%), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (35%), respectively in Slovenia (32%), accessories and jewelery in Croatia (49%) and Poland (35%), leisure products in Croatia (49%) and Slovakia (33%), household appliances in Poland (45%) and Bulgaria (31%) , fresh food and beverages in Hungary (43%) and Slovenia (32%), respectively medicine in Poland (42%), Czech Republic and Slovakia (37%), Bulgaria (31%) and Slovenia (29%).

"All this information and much more, which we have about each e-commerce market in Europe, can turn into opportunities and advantages for online stores that want to sell their products on these markets. Detailed knowledge of local e-shoppers, future customers, is essential for the entry into the respective e-commerce markets to be a success", says Nadia Talpă, CCO DPD Romania.

Preference for online shops from abroad. The first opportunity refers to the fact that e-shoppers from all 8 studied markets make their purchases in online stores abroad. Those from Slovenia (80%) and Hungary (77%) are the most active from this point of view, while the EU average for shopping on foreign websites is 57%. And the other studied markets have percentages well above the EU average: Bulgaria (71%), Croatia (68%), Slovakia (63%), Czech Republic (62%). For comparison, in Romania the percentage is 67%.

Looking for better prices. E-shoppers from countries near Romania look for products in online stores abroad primarily to find better prices than locally. The most interested in this aspect are Slovenians (79%), Hungarians (76%), Bulgarians (71%), Croatians (65%), Slovaks (61%) and Poles (60%), while the European average is of 52%. As for Romanian e-shoppers, 64% of them declare that, when they search for products on foreign websites, they do it to find better prices.

Products and brands that cannot be found locally. Another important reason that determines the choice of external sites is that certain products or brands are not found in local markets. Croatians excel in this regard (63%, above the European average, which is 52%), while Czech e-shoppers do not seem very interested in this aspect (only 39%). Bulgarians and Slovenians (52%), Hungarians (51%) show an interest close to the European average. At the same time, Slovenians want the most (25%) for foreign websites to be written in their language. The Poles (17%), Czechs (15%) and Bulgarians (13%) follow, the European average being, in this respect, 13%, the DPD Romania study also shows. Most e-shoppers in the countries studied are also satisfied if the sites are written in English.

"Beyond detailed information on regional e-commerce markets, DPD Romania supports Romanian online stores that want to expand into these markets with the CEE Regional Service, which contains a series of facilities and dedicated support. Basically, the DPD Romania team can take care of all the technical details. We are part of Geopost, the most important road courier in Europe, and our group partners are among the top 3 actors on the courier markets in the respective countries", Nadia Talpă also declared.

Among the facilities offered by the CEE Regional Service are: the ability to cash on delivery in lei or local currency, the best prices for road deliveries, advantageous transit time, access to an Out of Home network of 70,000 pick-up points, relevant information about regional e-commerce markets.