Are you ready for a surprise? Discover how e-shoppers have changed in 2022

Ljubljana, June 2023 | The past few years have seen constant change. The world market is changing and so are the customers. As a result, consumer habits have changed dramatically.

Inflation and difficult economic conditions were expected to have a major impact on e-shopper habits and e-shopping trends. We predicted that the whole of Europe would experience a drop in shopping. But a surprise followed...

Despite strong inflation and difficult economic conditions, regular customers in Slovenia continue to buy roughly as much as a year ago

For the 7th consecutive year, DPD and Geopost have conducted one of the largest European surveys, the E-shopper barometer, which offers important information about the development of e-commerce and conclusions about the latest trends in online shopping.

The survey found that more than half (55 %) of regular e-shoppers believe that shopping online saves money, and price is still the main driver of purchase. In addition to price, free shipping and free returns are also important factors for purchase. Most regular e-shoppers are still of the opinion that online shopping saves time and money.

Regular e-buyers, both in Slovenia and in Europe, still represent the majority of all online purchases, as they receive approximately 4 parcels per month. 43 % of all buyers are regular e-buyers (vs. 48 % in Europe). According to the research, the top 3 selling categories in 2022 were shoes (54 %), fashion (45 %) and cosmetics (43 %).

Today's e-buyers primarily expect a smooth shopping experience, fast and reliable delivery, the ability to track their parcels and the freedom to decide when and where the parcels will be delivered.

DPD is aware that consumer demands are much higher today than they were before the pandemic. Therefore, they try to adapt as much as possible to their wishes and needs. The majority of participants in the E-shopper barometer survey said that they expect a smooth shopping experience above all. When it comes to delivery, they say that they want control over the parcel, the possibility of tracking and the possibility of freely deciding where the parcel will be delivered.

As much as 70 % of the participants say that they want to know the name of the delivery service that will deliver the parcel even before they complete the purchase.

Is home delivery still the most popular?

Although the popularity of Out-of-Home delivery to Pickup  points and especially to parcel lockers has been growing in recent years, home delivery remains the most popular delivery option. As many as 81 % of participants still choose home delivery. In Slovenia, this percentage is slightly lower and amounts to 79 %, which is 12 % less than the year before. However, DPD is adapting to the wishes and needs of its customers and end users here as well, which is why they will greatly expand their network of parcel lockers in 2023 and in the years to come. The research shows that the choice of alternative delivery locations has increased the most, and the growth is most noticeable in the choice of delivery to parcel lockers, in Slovenia this growth is 6 %.

More and more shopping on C2C platforms and social networks

In the last year, the use of C2C platforms and the purchase of used products via social networks has increased significantly. The DPD E-shopper barometer 2022 survey showed that 46 % of Slovenian e-shoppers buy and sell on C2C platforms. They say that this way they can buy products at lower prices than they would otherwise, and sell products that they no longer need or use, freeing up space at home, and at the same time earning extra money.

More and more people are making purchases via social networks – 82 % of Slovenian regular e-shoppers (vs. 70 % in Europe) said that in the last year they made at least one purchase via social networks, 59 % of them made a purchase directly via a social network.

The E-shopper barometer 2022 survey is fully available on the DPD website, where you can read more interesting findings: https://www.dpd.com/si/en/e-shopper-barometer-2022/.