“We still have a lot of industries not present online: major retailers, ticketing market players, tourism players,” stated Daniel Nicolescu, country manager of online payment processor PayU Romania.
Just 20% of the 10 million internet users buy from e-commerce websites, according to PayU data.
Nicolescu added that Romania generates online sales of EUR1 billion, while in the Czech Republic, with a population half that of Romania, the e-commerce market stands at EUR1.7 billion.
In Poland, the largest market in the region, revenues generated by online stores are 5 times bigger, at EUR5 billion.
“Hence, our opportunity to grow. With a population of 20 million inhabitants, we could reach a market as large as EUR2 billion at the end of the year,” added Nicolescu.
On average, an internet user in Romania spends just EUR100 on online purchases, compared to the Czech Republic and Poland where the average stands at EUR202/user and EUR185/user, respectively, according to Euromonitor and Center for Retail Research data, quoted by PayU representatives. The Czech Republic has around 8.4 million internet users, and Poland 27 million.
The Romanian e-commerce market grows at an annual clip of around 30%-35%, way above the rate of countries in the region, where the advance is estimated at just 5%. This will determine more international retailers to tap Romania.
“The domestic market will expand both amid the rising number of online buyers, and on the arrival of various competitors on the market,” said Camelia Ganga, marketing manager at Fashion Days online store.
The store is one of PayU’s 14 partners for e-Romaneste, a campaign meant to educate and inform Romanians about online shopping. The project was jointly launched by players in the industry and will unfold during the May 14-June 14 period.
The target is to increase the number of online clients from 2 million to 4 million.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)