Romanian E-Commerce Market Hit 7 Billion EUR in 2020

In 2020, the Romanian e-commerce market (purchases from Romanian merchants) reached 7 billion EUR, up 36% compared to the previous year, according to internal and external data analyzed by PayU, the leader of Romania’s online payment market.

“The Romanian e-commerce market, including electronic payment for goods and services purchased from local sellers, amounted to approximately EUR 7 billion in 2020, up by 36% compared to the previous year, according to internal and external data analyzed by PayU, the leader of the online payments market in Romania. For 2021 we estimate a 25% increase in the number of online transactions and we expect the penetration rate of online card payment to reach the threshold of 39%.

Romanians have increasingly opted for card payment for online purchases. The penetration rate of online card payment has increased by 50%, reaching 36% in 2020, with a maximum reported by some merchants of over 50%. For 2021 we estimate a 25% increase in the number of transactions paid online and we expect the penetration rate of online card payment to reach the threshold of 39%. The total volume processed by PayU almost doubled, and the number of processed transactions increased by 61%, reaching 72 transactions per minute. The average value of a transaction increased by 22%, reaching 46 euros last year”.

Elena Gheorghe, country manager PayU

These figures are also the result of factors such as the fact that many buyers make an online payment for the first time online; even one of the top local banks announced that in the first months during the pandemic over 300,000 Romanians paid online for the first time. The one-click payment facility makes the customer experience extremely simple, secure and fast, as confirmed by the 117% annual increase in transactions paid with this option, accounting for 38% of total payments with card made in 2020.

“It is just the beginning of it. The e-commerce market in Romania has a tremendous potential. In the next years we’ll certainly witness it becoming a 10 Billion EUR market.

Let’s not forget in Romania it is now happening something very interesting, which doesn’t happen on many other markets: there is a strong tendency for the Romanian e-payment processors to offer solutions for integrating cryptocurrency with fiat, thus making the online purchasing process more available for the cryptocurrency owners. Let’s look at what happened with NETOPIA integrating Bitcoin payments, or the recent Elrond’s eGOLD integration on the same NETOPIA.

E-commerce is blooming in Romania and we’re proudly taking part at this interesting development.”

Catalin ADAM, founder at TUYA Digital – SEO & Digital Marketing

The optimism of the specialists working in the industry is genuine and the e-commerce market in Romania has grown year after year. Pandemic was, from this perspective, a positive factor, but the evolution is expected to keep the pace even after the pandemic is over.

Whether or not you’re thinking to invest in Romania, one thing is for certain: the country has started to become more attractive not only to investors, but also to those who want to outsource for cutting costs but keep the quality. In the end, globalization has brought some advantages along, hasn’t it?

This section is powered by TUYA Digital – SEO & Digital Marketing agency.