Business Forum • 16 December, 2024 at 1:09 PM
Around 65% of companies in Romania identify social media channels as their primary promotional method, according to the Romanian Ecommerce Report 2024, a study conducted by MKOR on behalf of VTEX (NYSE: VTEX), the composable and complete commerce platform.
Launched during the European Digital Commerce (EDC) event, in Bucharest, Romania, the study reveals that six out of ten microenterprises experienced a decline in online sales in 2023, highlighting the challenges small businesses face in adapting to the dynamic ecommerce landscape.
Conversely, two-thirds of large enterprises reported an increase in sales, reflecting their ability to leverage broader resources and more advanced strategies. The data also shows that approximately 70% of startups recorded growth in online sales, underlining the rapid development potential during the early stages of digital operations.
Top online product categories sold in 2023:
- Appliances and Electronics (16%, +10% compared to 2022)
- Home, Garden, and DIY Products (14%)
- Non-Food FMCG (12%)
- Toys, Baby, and Childcare Products (10%, +4%)
- Sporting Goods (9%, +5%).
Ecommerce businesses face intense competition with manufacturers and other retailers, striving to attract and retain customers. Nearly 42% of ecommerce businesses (+21% compared to 2022) identified competition as a significant challenge in 2023.
Cart abandonment emerged as another pressing issue, with 33% of businesses (+12% compared to 2022) reporting that many users add items to their carts but fail to complete purchases.
Additionally, 28% of online retailers (an increase of +11% compared to 2022) state that in 2023, although website traffic is growing, converting visitors into paying customers remains challenging. This highlights the need to optimize user experience as well as sales strategies.
Moreover, the VTEX study reveals that nearly 27% of ecommerce businesses identified pricing policies (+15% compared to 2022) as the main challenge of 2023. Establishing competitive prices that attract customers while ensuring profitability is an increasingly pressing issue. This challenge is further exacerbated by economic volatility.
At the same time, 26% of ecommerce businesses (an increase of 6% compared to 2022) are facing difficulties in attracting the right customers. Identifying the target audience and engaging it through effective campaigns remains a priority for online businesses, amid increasing competition.
For 23% of online businesses (+5%), the VTEX Romanian Ecommerce Report 2024 identifies challenges related to supply and delivery. Additionally, 19% of online businesses (+7% compared to 2022) highlight return and refund policies as major issues, while 17% point to customer loyalty as a concern (a decrease of 3% compared to 2022).
At the same time, participants in the VTEX Romanian Ecommerce Report 2024 identified the following as potential barriers to transitioning a business from offline to online: misalignment with market demands (51%), development strategy (38%), small team size (15%), limited knowledge of the market segment (9%), and constraints in logistics and inventory (11%).
The study was conducted on a sample of 350 companies.