Do you want to enter the Romanian market? Check out what you should consider!
If you want to sell online in Romania, as with any other international market, you will need to do some research and adapt your business model to the expectations of Romanian consumers.
In an economic environment strongly influenced by the Covid epidemic and the war in Ukraine, as well as by the government's decisions, with inflation at 15%, the forecasts of the business environment are quite restrained regarding the development of the second half of 2022. In 2020, in light of social distancing measures, lack of mobility, and remote work, e-commerce sales in Romania represented the most important growth pillar of the retail sector. In terms of online shopping and payment methods, the capital of Romania was the settlement with the highest rate of online payments. In Romania, the e-commerce market registered a user penetration of approximately 48.12 percent in 2021. By 2025, the same penetration will increase to nearly 56.72 percent, according to Digital Market Outlook.
Are you planning to open an online business in Romania? Here are some useful tips from our partner, easySales! What is easySales? A team that helps scale in Romania and develops a platform that solves the problem of complexity of presence in popular marketplaces and lack of integration between different external systems.
Research the market!
An e-commerce business needs to address the following for a complete experience:
- translation optimized for e-commerce
- sales on marketplaces
- local marketing and SEO
- currency conversion tools and competitive pricing
- different payment methods
- local delivery options
- taxes and fees
- legislation and compliance (GDPR)
- analysis of restrictions on local products
Before you sell in a new market, you need to do your homework. Get as much information as possible about the country, your potential customers, their buying habits, and what products they like to buy.
In 2019, e-commerce in Romania was worth more than €4 billion. Fashion products accounted for the largest share of revenue (37%), followed by electronic media at 27%, food, and personal care at 14%, toys and hobbies at 12%, and furniture and household appliances with the remaining 9%, according to Statista.
Research the national market and competitors!
You need to find out if your products or services are of interest to the Romanian market, and also find out who your competitors are. eMag was the largest player in the Romanian e-commerce market in 2021, with revenues of $990 million in 2021. eMag was followed by Fashiondays ($152 million) and Altex ($134 million). According to the ecommerceDB country report, the top three stores account for 40% of online revenues in Romania.
Infrastructure - courier service
To face competition in Romania, it is essential to offer advantageous and fast transport options. Studies show that 26% of cart abandonment is due to transport costs and delivery times.
Courier companies are constantly improving their services and next-day delivery is now an integrated practice in Romanian online commerce.
According to Forbes 2021, published at the end of 2021, the top courier companies in Romania in 2020 in terms of turnover were Fan Courier Express, Cargus, and Delivery Solutions (Sameday).
More payment options
Payment methods vary from country to country. In the United States, consumers prefer credit cards, while in other countries contactless cards and digital wallets such as PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay dominate. In Romania, the preferred method is cash on delivery, followed by credit cards, according to Glopal.
Set competible prices
Pricing online stores is always a challenge: you need to be competitive, but you also need to make a profit. Of course, you need to do a little research on the price trends in the Romanian market. When setting your prices, you also need to take into account customs and import duties, as they can affect the final price of the product you want to sell in Romania.
Marketing strategy
Marketing must be local and product documentation and/or website translation must be in Romanian. Even if you include detailed photos of your products on your website, many consumers will not buy products for which they do not understand the description.
Build a social media presence!
According to Forbes' analysis, social commerce will be trending in 2022, and marketers will need to return to social media channels to communicate and engage with potential customers.
According to a study by the Spark Foundry agency, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok remain the preferred social media platforms in Romania, with Twitter registering the biggest increase in preferences among Romanians over the past year.
Expand through marketplaces
If you don't want to make a huge effort in marketing, the solution highly appreciated by sellers in Romania is to expand through marketplaces.
To increase sales in the market, offer quality customer service: every market has certain expectations of its consumers in terms of delivery or customer service, so it is advisable to take these into account in your offer and be flexible with discounts or free returns. In addition, adapting to customer expectations and increasing ratings are also key to success.
Share customer stories: user-generated content (UGC) in the form of product reviews is a trend in online retail. Be sure to include customer feedback in your product images and product descriptions. This is one way of building trust.
Optimize your ads: make sure you have good images, keywords, and tags and include these in your detailed product descriptions, which will help improve click-through rates and SEO. Display all the product information a customer might be looking for (dimensions, specifications, instructions, etc.). Tip: it's also worth adding video to your datasheets as it can increase product visibility by 37%.
Automate everything: the best way to keep track of prices, stocks and listings is to use the marketplace integration platform, which allows you to have all the information in one place and automatically adjust prices and stock across all markets.
Use the possibilities!
Despite the uncertain economic environment, which has been greatly affected by the war in Ukraine, Romania offers many opportunities. Digital transformation and the impact of technology on all sectors have facilitated the spread of e-commerce. According to the latest Europe E-Commerce Report 2022, in February this year, 91% of the Romanian population had access to the internet and 41% bought goods or services online. So all the prerequisites for success are in place.
Do you want to sell in Romania? Let us help!
Want to test new sales channels and process orders ten times faster? If you need help with simplified sales on popular Romanian marketplaces and automated management of your e-commerce activity, the easySales team is just a click away!
Create a free account on the easy-Sales.com platform and learn how to automate your sales.
