The e-commerce sector in Romania has increased by 30%, last year compared to 2020, and for 2022 an increase between 20% and 30% is expected, according to a market analysis conducted by a company specialized in trade solutions integrated.  

Romania is the 49th largest market for eCommerce with a revenue of US$3 billion in 2021, placing it ahead of Singapore and behind Greece.

Sources: Statista Digital Market Outlook 2021, Statista Global Consumer Survey 2021, ecommerceDB.com as of October 2021, eCommerceDB

The local market has no more than 100 online stores that are registering over 1,000 orders per day but is expected in the next three years the number to triple, based on five trends of digital transformation which will define local ecommerce.

In 2021, the adoption of Internet mediated communication solutions grew, due to teleworking and online schooling. Thus, the penetration rate of Internet services also grew and will attract a 33% increase in traffic from connected computers and 12% for mobile equipment. Romania experiences thus a context that favors the adoption of ecommerce. 

According to available statistics on online payments, there is a rise in the adoption of card payments: the introduction of the extra security measures, or “instant money back” return option has increased the confidence in this type of safe payments method. 

Social networks are accessed by a growing number of users, so they are gaining an increasingly important role in the sales strategy. Also, according to Veranda Shop Online, live shopping will also develop in Romania, acting as a lever that mixes online and offline interaction. This shopping method will be more valuable especially for niche products. 

As of July 2021, new VAT regulations, which apply to online shopping outside the EU, came into force. The new regulations will make online shopping outside the EU, come into force. The new regulations will make online shopping in China more expensive and therefore less profitable, since VAT will also apply to cross-border online shopping with a declared value of up to 10 euros. 

A study conducted by iSense Solutions for GPeC shows that almost one third of Romanians prefer to buy online from stores in China (27%), EU member states (23%) and the USA (4%). Moreover, AliExpress ranks second in the top of foreign platforms preferred by Romanians, just ahead of Amazon. 

emag.ro is the most visited E-commerce and Shopping website in Romania for August 2021, followed by olx.ro as the runner up, and compari.ro at 3rd place as the leaders of the E-commerce and Shopping websites in Romania. 

•              Revenue in the eCommerce market is projected to reach US$6,932.00m in 2022.

•              Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2025) of 16.60%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$10,990.00m by 2025.

•              With a projected market volume of US$1,412.00bn in 2022, most revenue is generated in China.

•              In the eCommerce market, the number of users is expected to amount to 10.6m users by 2025.

•              User penetration will be 51.1% in 2022 and is expected to hit 56.7% by 2025.

•              The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to amount to US$713.50.

By 2025, the number of eCommerce users in Romania is expected to increase by 16 percent to 11 million, with 33 percent of online shoppers in Romania having a high household income. The top three interests of online shoppers in Romania are Clothing, Shoes, Food & Drinks, and Consumer Electronics, which is the most searched for and purchased online, with approximately US$756 million in net sales in 2020. When making a major purchase, approximately 70% of Romanian online shoppers conduct research online.

Since 2018, the market volume of the top 100 Romanian online stores has increased by 51%. In 2020, the top five stores account for 51% of the top 100 net sales in Romania. In 2020, the top 6-25 stores account for 26% of the top 100 net sales in Romania. Among all Romanian categories, fashion has the highest online share. An international comparison of online shares reveals that all Romanian categories have the potential for greater online penetration. In terms of numbers, pure players account for 36% of the top 100 Romanian stores. In China, the proportion of pure players is higher in terms of both numbers (50 percent) and sales (74 percent).

Emag.ro heads the list of top 10 Romanian stores, when it comes to the top 3 stores by categories, emag.ro takes first place in 3 out of 5 categories, leading in Electronics & Media, Hobby & DIY and Food & Personal Care. Even so, leading in terms of growth when it comes to these categories, we will notice intuitext.ro, sizeer.ro and drmax.ro. Fashiondays.ro is the largest player, while stradivarius.com leads in terms of growth in the Fashion category and Altex.ro is the largest player for Furniture & Appliances, while jysk.ro leads in terms of growth. On average, Romanian top stores achieved a year-over-year growth of 21% in 2021 and the top 5 Romanian stores accounted for 51% of the net sales of the top 100 stores in 2020.