BizAims

By 2007, statistical information about the growth of the Internet and E-commerce has become a very large concern and there are thousands of sources.

A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual items such as access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the World Wide Web.

The statistical information confirms forecasts of development of Electronic commerce on the various countries. In our opinion, quickly an emerging market in the field of Electronic commerce is Romania.

E-Commerce characteristics in Romania

•         the legislation regarding implementation of information society has been settled after 1998 (GO 58/1998)‏

•         Romania has strong preoccupations to create the IT infrastructure

•         Companies have been promoting online business models only in the last years

The extent of E-Commerce in Romania

1.      Over 600 sites which are specialized on Internet sales

2.      E-Commerce has an increasing tendency

3.      E-Commerce is a relative new business field

It cannot be denied that the Internet is quickly becoming one of the most powerful medium. It has already changed the way people communicate, learn and... do the shopping. Nearly one third of Internet users from Romania use online stores or auction portals as a place for purchasing various goods. 

To respond to the growing need of knowledge in the e-commerce market Gemius research on the attitudes and preferences of Internet users towards online shopping in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, and the Ukraine. The study deals with the subject of favourite products bought on the Internet, the frequency of shopping and purchase intent. It reveals also a ranking of e-shops and auction sites.

Interesting facts

Cautious fans of online shopping

As a result of the project carried out in Romania, Genius got to know that contrary to the extremely high awareness of online shopping (97% of all respondents heard about it); only 29% of all Internet users have ever made an online purchase. It is even more surprising when respondents’ declarations of positive attitude towards shopping are considered- 65% of them like or even love this way of spending time.

What is the reason for this cautiousness? A deep insight into the opinions on e-commerce gives the answer to this question. 44% of Internet users (who have heard about shopping on the Internet) consider this medium risky as far as financial transactions are concerned. Six percent of those, who have ever done shopping on the Internet, admitted that the higher security of payments would make them buy more frequently. Improvement in the security of delivery would also increase the frequency of shopping (among 6% of the surveyed e-shoppers).

Saving time and money

In addition to the small number of e-shoppers, most of them are far from purchasing online on everyday basis - only 15% do it more or less once a week. However 42% of those who have ever done shopping on the Internet admitted that they are going to buy on the Web more frequently. An important incentive would be the improvement of their own financial situation as well as special offers, discounts and lower prices. Taking into account what Internet users usually buy online, this is no surprise. The most popular products bought in online shops are phones and accessories (29%) and, in the case of auctions, computers (39%). As those products are generally rather expensive, it is essential for e-shoppers that they can buy cheaper via Internet. All in all, the Web is associated with saving money and time. 42% of Internet users admitted that it takes less time than buying in traditional shops. It is worth adding that for 11% of all respondents saving time and for 21% saving money is one of the most important criteria while buying

Online shops versus auctions

As far as the behavior of Romanian e-shoppers is concerned, they generally prefer online stores to auctions. The domestic market edged up to 26% for the former, while auctions maintain at the level of 5%. Moreover, these two places are perceived differently by Internet users. The reasons for buying in online shops are: home delivery (42% of respondents who have done shopping in online stores) and saving the time (40%), while in case of auctions, it is the fact that you can find goods difficult to come across in other places (55% of respondents who have done shopping in online auctions) and order at any time (47%). The e-shoppers buy also different products in online shops and at auctions. They usually buy phones, accessories (29% of Internet users shopping in online stores) and books, CDs, films (27%) in the former, whilst in the latter they most of all buy: computers (39% of Internet users who have ever done shopping in online auctions), phones and accessories (37%), clothes and jeweler (36%).

The popularity of online shops over auctions is not an unexpected phenomenon, taking into account the importance of security for e-customers. 36% of visitors to online shops mentioned higher security (comparing to auctions) as the main advantage of online shops. Contrary, 49% of Internet users participating in auctions mentioned an easier procedure leading to the purchase to be a great advantage of auctions.

More information about the advantages and disadvantages of online shopping, based on the Genius study’s respondents’ declarations is included in the table below.

                                                                           Online Shops                         Auction     

To sum up, as there is a clear intention of e-shoppers to buy online, the future of e-commerce seems to be bright. In order to promote the expansion of online shopping, security should be guaranteed. As saving of time is also very important for customers, quick delivery of products should would be a welcome advantage. Last, but not least, online shops and auctions should pay more attention to information about the products they offer. Fulfilling all these conditions would speed up the development of the e-commerce market in Romania and result in higher satisfaction of the customers.