Greece Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in greece, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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eCommerce
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General Overview

Electronic Commerce (eCommerce) in Greece has been accelerated by the country’s much needed digital transformation in both the public and private sectors of the economy, driving record increases in Î’2C internet shopping and B2B transactions to match new consumption habits. 

The Greek e-commerce market’s Gross Merchandise Value reached $31.9 billion in 2024, growing at 8.2% annually. Around 80 percent of businesses list digital transformation as a strategic priority in 2024. Greek consumers are increasingly participating in cross-border online shopping, with popular destinations being other European Union countries, the United States, and China. This has prompted many Greek retailers to expand their online presence and offer international shipping. Several major e-commerce platforms operate in Greece, including both local and international players. Some popular platforms include Skroutz.gr, Public.gr, and zara.com. Additionally, global giants like Amazon and eBay are also available to Greek consumers.  

Legal & Regulatory

Online sales are regulated by the European Union’s E-Commerce Directive. The E-Commerce Directive is the foundational legal framework for online services in the EU. The Directive establishes harmonized rules on transparency and information requirements for online service providers, commercial communications and electronic contracts and limitations of liability of intermediary service providers. It also enhances administrative cooperation between the Member States, and the role of self-regulation. 

The Directive sets out basic requirements on mandatory consumer information, steps to follow in online contracting and rules on commercial communications. This covers online advertisements, unsolicited commercial communications and more. The internal market clause is a key principle of the e-Commerce Directive. It ensures that providers of online services are subject to the law of the Member State in which they are established and not the law of the Member States where the service is accessible. Since the directive does not cover all aspects of the eCommerce relationship from seller to buyer, all other aspects are regulated by the Greek Civil Code, and the legislation for protection of consumers. The Greek eCommerce Association (GRECA) has published all relative regulations pertaining Greek eCommerce on their website.

For businesses already established in the EU, eCommerce environment, there are no licensing requirements. For those not operating in the EU, a license is required. In order to operate in Greece, the company needs to register at the Greek Business Registry, which is supervised by the Ministry of Finance.

In Greece, Law 4933/2022, in which the Directive (EU) 2161/2019 (Omnibus Directive) was incorporated into Greek legislation, aims to protect consumer rights by strengthening law enforcement measures and the obligations of transparency, increasing the obligations of digital service providers in exchange for users’ personal data. In addition, it broadens the consumer protection framework to cover digital goods, content, and services. 

The adopted improvements relate to ensuring the proportionality of the sanctions imposed for the violation of consumer protection legislation, to strengthening the deterrent effect of these sanctions, as well as to the introduction of a clear framework of individual means of legal protection that is made available to consumers. In addition, the Greek legislation on consumer protection includes provisions for online search services that have a significant impact on the consumers and can influence their choices. Transparency in online markets is enhanced, so that consumers can be informed about how the ranking of the offers presented in an online market is determined, or the identity of the counterparty with whom they enter into a contract.

Consumer Behavior

Online shopping behavior is primarily driven by online market research, price comparison, and by the significant increase of online banking. According to EUROSTAT and ELSTAT 2023 reports, 86 percent of Greeks are internet users and 58 percent are online shoppers. According to available data in 2024, 58 percent of consumers make at least one purchase per quarter. 

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