Romanians shopped online for almost 7 billion euros in 2022, of which more than half was allocated to clothing and electronics, according to eBook eCommerce Growth Strategies data, the largest data and growth strategy report for online stores in Romania, made by Limitless Agency, one of the digital marketing agencies on the market. Thus, the average revenue per user generated in the e-commerce industry was 467 euros.
The Romanian e-commerce market has around 100 online stores that register over 1,000 orders per day. According to Limitless Agency data, in 2022, these stores had orders worth a total of 6.7 billion euros, of which 55% represents the value of orders for clothes, shoes and electronics.
What Romanians buy the most online and how much they spent
According to the results of the eCommerce Growth Strategies eBook report, developed by Limitless Agency, Romanians spent the most on products in the following categories:
Fashion: 2.63 billion euros (46%)
Electronics: 1.1 billion euros (19%)
Personal and home care: 885 million euros (15%)
Toys, hobby, DIY: 590 million euros (10%)
Food: 146 million euros (2.6%)
Furniture: 125 million euros (2.2%)
Music/movies/games: 88.9 million euros (1.5%)
Beverages: 32.1 million euros (0.5%)
“The potential of the e-commerce market in Romania is very high. Although more and more Romanians buy online, statistically only 45% of those with Internet access, which in Romania means 90% of the population, place an order online. At the moment, not even half of the entire population purchases online, which places us very far from the Nordic countries’ advances, where 95% of the population orders online. But the market is expected to grow spectacularly in Romania as well, with over 54% of Romanians ordering online in 2025, the number of online stores increasing up to three times in the coming years, and the market value reaching 10 billion euros”, explains Daniel Ene, CMO&Partner Limitless Agency, main provider of digital marketing services on the ecommerce market.
How Romanians order from online stores
Almost 1 in 5 Romanians order online constantly online, 50% place online orders 2 times in 3 months and only 12% order online up to 6 times a month.
Limitless Agency also shows that, in Romania, the e-commerce market generated an average revenue per user of approximately 467 euros in 2022, a value that will reach over 870 euros by 2027, according to Digital Market Outlook data, Statista. At the same time, 21% of Romanians also order from outside the country, most often from China, from Aliexpress, the online store from the group of which Alibaba is a part.
Also, 72% of Romanians save and wait to buy a product, and 28% sacrifice other expenses to buy a product faster. In addition, 49% of Romanians pay more for a brand they know, 51% pay less for a cheaper own-brand product, 57% pay more for an eco-friendly product, and 43% pay less for a non-eco-friendly version.
In Europe, the percentage of online shoppers has increased from 55% in 2012 to 75% in 2022, an increase of 20%. The biggest increases were registered in Estonia (+47%), the Czech Republic (+41%), and Romania (+41%), the Limitless Agency study also shows.
E-commerce in the European Union was boosted by the demand of the 25-34 age group in 2022, with 87% of people in this age group buying goods online in 2022. Also last year, 42% of Internet users ordered clothes (including shoes and accessories), 19% ordered from restaurants, fast food and catering services and 17% bought cosmetics, beauty and wellness products online.Tot la nivel european, comerțul electronic este influențat de nivelul de educație, 88% din consumatori având studii superioare, peste 80% dintre consumatori fiind angajați sau antreprenori.
Created with the aim of educating and supporting the Romanian ecommerce market, eBook eCommerce Growth Strategies is a complex report containing over 90 tested strategies and recommendations for increasing online sales, from 24 experts in ecommerce, online promotion and brand communication, technologies for ecommerce, design, delivery, and legislation in the field. The report is dedicated to entrepreneurs who want to scale their online store, entrepreneurs who invest in online marketing and marketers who manage online stores.
The report can be downloaded here.