Electronic commerce in Romania
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
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
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.
Online Shops Auction
Reason for purchasing in online | Home deliver (42%) Saving time (40%) | Goods more difficult to find in other place (55%) Possibility of ordering at any time (47%) |
Advantage of Shopping: Online Shop Auction | Higher security (36%) | Easer procedure to purchase (49%) |
Problems | I don’t have any problem (36%) Lack of information about product (23%) | I don’t have any problem (36%) Not receiving ordered product (26%)
|
Most popular product bought | Phone and accessories (29%) Books, CD, films (27%) | Computer (39%) Phone & Accessories (37%) Clothes and jewelries (36%) |
Most popular way of paying | I cash at deliver (48%) Credit card (31%) | I cash at deliver (42%) Directly at the seller (13%) |
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.
