Social Media remained the main driver of traffic for 89% of the online stores in CEE in 2023, relatively stable on the year, while PPC declines from 43% to 37%, according to a study co-developed by Mediapost Hit Mail Bulgaria and partners, including eCommerce Academy.
Meanwhile the contribution to the overall traffic of the eCommerce stores in the region grows for both SEO, from 28% last year to 34%, and Influencer relations, from 11% to 15% at end-2023.
“Social media and PPC still remain the main channels to drive traffic to the online stores but, as within any line of business, the size of the allocated budget determines the impact in the overall traffic. Other channels, like offline events, influencer relations, banners and affiliates are starting to close the gap and grow in terms of relevance. Traffic, sales, trends and much more insights will be available within the largest regional industry event we will be hosting in Sofia, next year – the Balkan eCommerce Summit,” said Nikola Ilchev, eCommerce Academy and Balkan eCommerce Summit founder.
While in terms of attracting traffic the main drivers remained relatively stable in 2023, cross-border appeal is growing for the eCommerce businesses. In 2023, half of the online businesses in the region still did not sell cross-border, but 32% planned to start – slightly up from the 30% who stated their willingness to go international in the previous year.
If 7% of the eCommerce businesses part of the study were already selling their products and services abroad in Romania, 7% more of the respondents claim they intend to start selling internationally, to Romania, as well. The main challenge for successful cross-border sales remained, in 2023 as well, the courier delivery service, for a third of the respondents.
eCommerce Academy is a community of e-merchants, online stores service providers and experts in eCommerce, founded in Bulgaria in 2016. Among various industry relevant events, eCommerce Academy will hold, for the third consecutive year, the Balkan eCommerce Summit in Sofia, on April 4-5, 2023. More information about the event is available at balkanecommerce.com.
The information provided by KomuniK
Representatives of the ruling Social Democratic Party, PSD, gathered for a congress in Bucharest on Friday, November 7, to elect new leadership and to amend the party’s Statute. The only candidate for party leader is Sorin Grindeanu, who held the interim position after Marcel Ciolacu's resignation in May. In his speech at the congress, Sorin […]
The e-commerce sector recorded strong early results on Black Friday 2025, according to real-time data released on Friday, November 7, by PayU GPO Romania from its dedicated Media Center. By 14:10, the payment processor reported successful transactions totaling RON 514 million (roughly EUR 101 million). PayU said shoppers had made roughly 889,000 purchases, with around […]
Contakt Express Logistik, one of Romania’s leading retailers of mobile phone and tablet accessories, with a network of over 235 stores, is set to launch the initial public offering (IPO) between November 12 and December 3, 2025. The company offers a wide range of products, including cases, screen protectors, chargers, and gadgets, both in physical […]
Romania attracts fewer international tourists today than it did during the communist era, making it the only country in Europe in this situation, the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT) warned, as reported by news agency Agerpres. According to the organization, Romania received more than 3.4...
InterCapital ETF, the first international ETF provider in Romania, will launch two new exchange-traded funds on the Bucharest Stock Exchange starting November 11, 2025. The new instruments are the InterCapital CROBEX10 TR UCITS ETF, which offers exposure to the Croatian blue-chip equity market by tracking the performance of the CROBEX10tr index, and the InterCapital EUR […]
The Competition Councils of Romania, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Moldova have granted the necessary authorizations and approvals for the completion of the transaction through which Maspex Romania takes over the majority shareholding of Purcari Wineries. The Maspex Group, which has been present in Romania for nearly 30 years, became the majority shareholder of one […]
