Most shoppers (almost 40%) chose apparel and shoes, with electronics, home appliances, cosmetics and perfume being the other most popular products, according to market data.
“Population distribution by gender remains the same when it comes to those who shop online. Statistics show more women than men buy things online and even spend more,” says Liviu Taloi, e-commerce and online marketing consultant with ECOMpedia.
The statistics therefore explain to a certain extent why fashion is the most popular segment when it comes online shopping. Shoppers may be recorded twice, if they buy apparel and then perfume and cosmetics. In all, four in ten Romanians shopping online have bought apparel and footwear over the Internet at least once.
“When we say fashion, we say impulse buys made by women, unlike computer and electronics products. The average value per product is higher with electronics and home appliances than with fashion products where a blouse may cost as little as tens of lei (around EUR10),” Taloi added.
Online commerce has developed in full gear in the past few years, first conquering the computer and electronics market and then the book, cosmetics and apparel markets. Grocery retailers (supermarkets and hypermarkets), too, have expanded online, either on their own or via partnerships lately.
Some 84% of the Romanians shopping online live in cities and are aged 25 to 35 years. Rural consumers have started to buy more and more online, as well. The average age of online shoppers is rising, too, so 15% of those buying something over the Internet are aged 45 to 55 years, 5% more than two years ago.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)