Trade: Romania's eCommerce market to exceed EUR 8.8 billion in 2025

Romania's e-commerce market will exceed EUR 8 billion in 2025, after reaching EUR 7.7 billion in 2024, according to estimates in a special report published on last Wednesday.According to the second edition of "eCommerce Insights 2025", conducted by MerchantPro, despite the difficult geopolitical and socio-economic context, the local eCommerce market showed high resilience and a good ability to adapt, reporting a growth of 8%, significantly higher than the economic growth (1%), in line with the developments in total retail (+8.4%, according to INS, for the first eleven months of 2024).In 2024, the market value reached a new record, around EUR 7.7 billion, with growth prospects in 2025 above the level of EUR 8 billioon.Statista estimates reveal that the average value of online purchases made by an online customer in 2024 was about EUR 857.Specialists note that, while 55% of Romanians bought at least once online during the past year, buyers in rural areas fuel growth through a higher adoption than those in urban areas, where eCommerce has already become part of the daily lifestyle.Data analysed by the local platform for SaaS solutions for eCommerce, MerchantPro within the eCommerce Insights market analysis, show that the regions with the weakest e-commerce coverage remain Oltenia (38.4%) and Sud-Muntenia (39.5%), and the most active area is Bucharest - Ilfov, with 64.1%. The other historical regions of the country are around the average of 55%.According to the expert analysis, a third of transactions made in 2024 were paid for by card, and alternative methods such as Revolut Pay and Apple Pay are becoming increasingly popular.In this context, Generation Z is the segment of shoppers who prefer mobile platforms, buy based on video content and attach importance to sustainability.Also, increasingly more consumers choose to buy from large marketplaces and choose an online store based on criteria that ensure a convenient and transparent experience. Thus, the most important factor for 41% of respondents is free shipping, while 27% appreciate detailed product descriptions. At the same time, almost a quarter of Romanians (24%) avoid stores with hidden fees, and free returns matter for 21%. In addition, 15% prefer flexible options, such as cash on delivery or direct home delivery.The ranking of favourite product categories is led by beauty products which has surpassed the popularity of the fashion segment, being the online shopping option for 64% of the public. At the same time, pharma enjoys popularity higher than the star category of the last decade, electronics.At a general level, the eCommerce market in Romania is polarised between small, numerous and flexible players, and large companies, which control a large part of the revenues.Centralised data reveal that 98.3% of the companies are small, but they generate only 41% of the sector's turnover. Large companies, although they represent only 0.025% of the total, bring a third of the market revenues, and medium-large companies (50-249 employees) witnessed an accelerated growth of 31.6% in turnover.According to the same source, 64% of Romanians buy from international websites, mainly for lower prices, and almost half (47%) use them for products that are not available in local stores.The eCommerce Insights 2025 study also extensively analyses the trends shaping up the market, such as the impact of AI, the opening of borders after Romania's joining the Schengen area, the competition of the major regional players, but also changes in legislation or the rise of as a Service" (XaaS) solutions in e-commerce.MerchantPro is a project of ShopMania Net, designed for eCommerce entrepreneurs in Romania and Europe, through competitive eCommerce features, professional support services and customised solutions, adapted to specific development needs.