General Overview

In 2021, ecommerce turnover in Estonia was 2.5 billion euros, and ecommerce accounted for 15 percent of total retail trade. There are over 6000 e-stores in Estonia, and 98 percent of Estonians aged 16-74 use the Internet. More than 90 percent of population aged 16-74 have used e-commerce. Some 85 percent of ecommerce customers bought their goods from Estonian sellers, 45 percent from the EU, and 41 percent from other countries. Estonia maintains a robust IPR regime. The quality of IP protection in the legal system is strong, enforcement is good, and infringements and theft are uncommon. Estonia is not listed in USTR’s Special 301 report or in the Notorious Market report.

More information is available from the Estonian Ecommerce Association.

Legal & Regulatory

eCommerce is regulated by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority in accordance with EU ecommerce regulations.

Consumer Behavior

The top ecommerce sites in Estonia are kaup24, on24 and hansapost. The most popular foreign ecommerce sites are Amazon, AliExpress, and eBay. In June 2021, Estonians spent an average of €3.4 million per day on ecommerce, which is 75 percent more than two years ago. The most popular product groups were electronics, furniture and home furnishing, books, cosmetics, fashion goods, and groceries. The top online payment methods in Estonia include credit cards, bank transfers, and PayPal.

For B2C online purchases particularly, mobile ecommerce now makes up a significant proportion of the Estonian market. Estonia has a sophisticated and efficient ecommerce industry, and to compete effectively, it is essential that sellers offer cost effective and timely local shipping options. The easiest way to provide a reliable and secure local shipping service is often to use an international parcel forwarding service. Estonia has about 800 parcel machines, and Omniva owns the biggest market share, more than 47 percent of all parcel deliveries.