Trade: MerchantPro Compass H1 2025: eCommerce holds steady under pressure, with +2% growth

After a 2024 marked by adaptation and consolidation, Romanian eCommerce entered 2025 with a more restrained dynamic. According to MerchantPro Compass, the biannual analysis conducted by MerchantPro, a SaaS eCommerce platform supporting over 2,000 active online stores—the first half of this year confirms a paradigm shift: it’s no longer about how much you sell, but about how efficiently you do it.   In H1 2025, online stores within the MerchantPro ecosystem recorded a +2% increase in sales revenue compared to the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, the number of orders saw a slight drop of -0.3%. In this context, the average order value increased by +2.4%, stabilizing around 55 EUR, a clear sign that merchants are prioritizing the optimization of each transaction over sheer volume.   While Q1 showed slight acceleration, with a +3.7% increase in sales and +0.6% in order volume versus the same quarter last year, Q2 brought a visible slowdown: only +0.8% in sales and a -1% decline in volume. This dynamic clearly suggests the market is entering a phase of forced maturity, where operational agility, cost efficiency, and customer retention become critical priorities for online businesses.   At the same time, local merchants are facing growing pressure from global players, especially platforms from Asia, which have aggressively expanded in Central and Eastern Europe over the past 12 months. Extremely low prices, sustained promotional campaigns, and increasingly faster deliveries, often accompanied by a lack of fiscal constraints comparable to those imposed on local merchants (such as VAT), create a difficult-to-manage imbalance. This reality is further amplified by the new fiscal measures introduced in the recently adopted legislative package in Romania, which adds additional pressure on local entrepreneurs and indirectly reduces the resources available for automation, digitalization, or customer loyalty initiatives.   According to MerchantPro representatives, local merchants are focusing on efficiency, not expansion. Process automation, better integration between sales channels, and optimization of fulfillment and customer support operations are becoming mandatory investments. However, efficiency alone is not enough without an institutional framework that ensures fair competitiveness.   “Romanian merchants operate in a complex and somewhat unpredictable fiscal and logistical environment, while non-EU players can bypass significant costs that are essential for the sustainability of the local ecosystem. That’s why Romanian eCommerce needs not only technological innovation, but also a fair, regulated, and predictable environment. A unified VAT policy and real controls over cross-border markets could help rebalance the competitive landscape,” explains Arthur Radulescu, CEO of MerchantPro.   At the same time, supporting a healthy market requires that eCommerce SMEs have real access to funding for digitalization and optimization, through grants or lending instruments tailored to their operational specifics. Additionally, public awareness campaigns highlighting the benefits of local shopping, such as fast delivery, easy returns, and post-sale support can strengthen consumer loyalty and trust in local businesses.   Following a first half dominated by caution and recalibration, the months ahead will be decisive for the evolution of Romanian eCommerce. Increased exposure to international competition and ongoing margin pressure make operational efficiency and adaptability essential for growth. Meanwhile, the new legislative package recently adopted in Romania, which brings tax changes directly impacting operating costs, further amplifies the pressure on entrepreneurs, shrinking the room for investment and innovation.   The consolidation of local eCommerce now depends not only on merchants’ internal capabilities to optimize and automate but also on the existence of a fair and predictable framework. Uniform fiscal regulations for all players selling to Romanian consumers and concrete measures to support SME digitalization could help maintain competitiveness and enable sustainable growth in the second half of the year.   “H2 2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal period. If there are concrete support and market-balancing measures, Romanian eCommerce can move from survival to consolidation. Without them, 2025 could mark a loss of ground for local businesses in the face of non-EU competitors that bypass the rules,” adds Arthur Radulescu. MerchantPro continues to offer online stores advanced solutions for management, automation, and scaling, in a flexible format tailored to local merchants’ needs. At the same time, it closely monitors consumption behavior and industry trends, providing a clear picture of eCommerce dynamics through the MerchantPro Compass reports.