Price is the most important criterion for Romanians who shop online, most of them “hunt” for offers and are receptive to the idea of ​​buying on foreign websites, according to a study commissioned by an important courier company. How many purchases are made per year on average? How are we doing with returns? How do people choose which online store to buy from?

In 2023, the behavior of Romanians who shop online has joined European trends, defined by the concern for better prices, ease of online shopping, predictability and flexibility of delivery, respectively, return options, the press reported. release from DPD Romania.

All this largely explains the growing preference for OOH (out-of-home) delivery and the expansion of C2C platforms, a trend that portends dynamic changes in the behavior of Romanian buyers (a trend already observed at the European level) and the widespread use of social networks.

The “E-shopper 2023” barometer was published by DPD Romania and compiled based on a methodology that included more than 24,000 interviews conducted by Geopost experts in 22 countries. The study provides detailed information on the e-commerce market in Romania.

What does the research show?

More than half of Romanian e-shoppers (54%) are responsible for 90% of last year’s e-purchases. More specifically, those considered frequent e-shoppers made an average of 14.7 online purchases during 2023. In the last month, they received an average of 4.2 parcels.

According to a Geopost study, the majority of regular e-shoppers in Romania prefer to shop online to save time (81%, EU average 76%) or to avoid the stress of shopping in stores (71%, EU 66%). They prefer that delivery is free (36%, EU 41%) and that the product to be purchased is described in detail (25%, EU 23%).

Interestingly, unlike other e-shoppers in the EU, one in five Romanians (21% to be exact) still prefers to pay with cash on delivery, which is less important in the rest of the EU (7%).

What do Romanians pay most attention to when shopping online?

Price sensitive. For 65% of Romanian e-shoppers, as for the rest of Europe, online shopping is primarily about saving money. In more detail, 80% always look for the best deals (EU 69%), 65% look for discounts (EU 53%), and for 70% price is the most important factor in making a purchase decision (EU 62%). Much less than half (49%, EU 39%) are willing to pay more for ecological products.

How to choose an online store. When shopping online, Romanian e-shoppers choose sites they trust (56%, EU average 58%), rely on recommendations from friends or relatives (40%, EU 34%) or respond to paid advertising via social media (33 %, EU 20%).

Top products. Fashion (63%, EU 58%), beauty/health (60%, EU 48%) and footwear (57%, EU 51%) remain top purchases for Romanian e-shoppers in 2023. Next come the goods. Medicines (43%, EU 33%), which is 8% more than in 2021, Books (41%, EU 44%) and jewelry (34%, EU 29%). The largest decline in Romanian e-shopper preferences was recorded in Electronics (33%, EU 28%), down 6% from 2022 and 11% from 2021, and Jewelry, a category down 5%. compared to last year and, having 31%, leaves the TOP-10.

back. Romanians return less than two years ago; only 11% of Romanian e-shoppers returned the last product purchased online, which is 8 percent less than in 2021 (EU 14%). A possible explanation: only 52% (EU 55%) believe that the return was made simple and easy, while in 2021 the answers indicated a percentage of 65% in this section. In any case, like other Europeans, Romanians want the return to be free (20%, EU 27%). When returning goods, the majority of Romanians prefer to call the courier at home (53%, EU 23%), at points such as DPD offices (18%, EU 34%) or in vaults (15%, EU 20%) .

Purchases from abroad. Romanians are among the Europeans who make the most online purchases from abroad (70% of them have bought from abroad at least once; EU average 58%) due to better offers (63%, EU average 52%) ) or because they find products that are not available locally (43%, EU 53%) and offer more transparent delivery and return options (21%, EU 17%). When buying from abroad, they prefer European sites (77%, on average in the EU 73%); Online stores from neighboring countries are preferred by only 15% of them (EU 45%). China (51%, EU average 48%), Germany (36%, EU 28%) and Great Britain (26%, EU 24%) lead the countries.

OOH delivery. Last year, Romanian e-shoppers, like Europeans, preferred home delivery (79%, EU average 76%), but there was a growing preference for delivery to order: lockers (31%, 10 percent more than in 2021, and on 6 percent more than preferences). expressed in 2022), post offices (25%, EU 23%) or delivery points such as DPD Office (25%, EU 54%).

If there was a robot portrait of Romanian e-shoppers who prefer delivery to order, most of them are female (53%, EU 56%), married (56%, EU 45%) with an average age of 41.4 years (EU 41, 2%). years) who live in a city (94%, EU 86%), have a below average income (60%, EU 54%) and started shopping online 2-5 years ago (39%, EU 22%).

Social media. Romanian e-shoppers are among the most active in Europe on social networks, with 90% of those with an account using the network for at least one e-commerce-related purpose (the EU average is only 70%). Of these, 68% shop directly on social media (EU 48%), 41% find shopping inspiration on social media (EU 28%), and 41% get information related to e-shopping (EU 26%).

“The e-shopper barometer is also this year a true guide in an industry that is constantly evolving and evolving. For Romanian e-shoppers, price is an important motivation for e-commerce, including the preference for offers and discounts, as well as free or cheaper shipping options. This is one of the main reasons, along with flexibility, for the increasing preference for out-of-office delivery. Another trend is the preference for C2C trade, motivated by criteria such as price and the need for sellers to free up space and gain additional profit,” says Nadia Talpa, Commercial Director of DPD Romania.

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