“Sales rose by 25% in value and the number of orders by 30%. The growth was not constant: March and June saw a 40% increase on the year-ago period, while May and September only 15%,” Tiberiu Pop, general manager and shareholder of Corsar Online, told ZF.
“Sales were higher than last year in the third quarter but the growth was lower than the average of the first nine months.”
The growth of the market came as a result of the marketing investments and of more and more users buying online without encountering any problems, Pop believes.
“I think the market continued to grow fueled by companies’ marketing investments and by more and more users having a friend or acquaintance who bought online and was satisfied with the experience. The growth was also because of the increase in the number or product categories sold online. It is hard to provide figures because increases vary from one category to another.”
Cel.ro plans to start selling insurance, as well, and open its platform to other retailers looking to sell their products and services online, Pop said.
“Our short-term plans include adding insurance within the month and the marketplace we are working hard on.”
Corsar Online ended last year with 145 million lei (EUR32.6 million) revenue and expects RON180 million revenue in 2015. (EUR1=RON4.4367)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)