MerchantPro Compass: The Romanian eCommerce market in 2024 – Between stable growth of over 8% and strategic adaptation
<h3 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 21px; margin-bottom: 5px;">The annual&nbsp;MerchantPro Compass&nbsp;analysis, conducted by the local SaaS eCommerce platform&nbsp;MerchantPro, based on data from online stores active in both 2024 and the previous year, reveals that Romania’s eCommerce market continued to grow in 2024, with an increase of over&nbsp;8% in order value&nbsp;compared to the previous year. The&nbsp;number of orders grew by 3%, and the&nbsp;average cart value increased by 5.15%, indicating a rising trend in purchase value per transaction.</h3>

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<p>“The local eCommerce market is evolving steadily, but&nbsp;international competition, especially from Chinese platforms, is putting pressure on merchants. Differentiation is no longer just about price but also about the&nbsp;customer experience. Thus,&nbsp;personalized offers,&nbsp;integrating AI solutions&nbsp;for more relevant recommendations, and&nbsp;automating order management processes&nbsp;are key elements for long-term success," says&nbsp;<strong>Arthur Rădulescu, CEO of MerchantPro</strong>.</p>
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<h3>Online Commerce by Quarter: Q2 Was the Best Performing</h3>

<p>The dynamics of the eCommerce market varied significantly throughout 2024 from one quarter to another. In the&nbsp;first quarter (January - March), growth was moderate, with a&nbsp;5% increase in order value&nbsp;and&nbsp;4% more transactions, mainly driven by strong performance in&nbsp;February (+9.5%).</p>

<p>According to the&nbsp;MerchantPro Compass analysis, the&nbsp;second quarter (April - June)&nbsp;recorded the&nbsp;strongest growth, with a&nbsp;12%+ increase in order value, peaking in&nbsp;April, when the growth compared to&nbsp;April 2023 reached 28%.</p>

<p>In the&nbsp;third quarter (July - September), the market continued to expand at a stable rate, with an&nbsp;11% increase, positively influenced by a&nbsp;rise in September orders (+8.5%).</p>

<p>Due to the&nbsp;November elections&nbsp;and&nbsp;economic uncertainty, the&nbsp;fourth quarter (October - December)&nbsp;saw more&nbsp;modest growth, with&nbsp;revenues increasing by less than 5%&nbsp;and the&nbsp;number of transactions stagnating (+0.1%).</p>

<p>Even though the holiday season started&nbsp;strong in October with a 10% increase,&nbsp;November and December recorded minimal growth of 4% and 1%, respectively, amid political uncertainty, declining consumer purchasing appetite, and&nbsp;more cautious budget planning by both consumers and retailers.</p>

<h3>Industry Analysis: Contrasting Trends Between Sectors</h3>

<p>eCommerce performance in 2024 varied significantly by sector. The&nbsp;Auto &amp; Moto category&nbsp;was the most dynamic, with a&nbsp;50%+ increase in order value&nbsp;and a&nbsp;90% surge in transaction volume.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;Beauty segment&nbsp;continued to grow, with&nbsp;sales up 12.87%, although the number of orders increased at a slower pace.&nbsp;Fashion remained under pressure, experiencing a&nbsp;6.7% decline, while&nbsp;Home &amp; Deco dropped by 9.39% in order value. Sporting goods, on the other hand, saw&nbsp;16% growth.</p>

<p>In the&nbsp;Electronics segment, performance was mixed:&nbsp;a modest 2.58% increase in order value&nbsp;but a&nbsp;4.66% decrease in transaction volume, suggesting a shift towards&nbsp;fewer but higher-value purchases.</p>

<p>Groceries&nbsp;maintained a&nbsp;positive trend, with&nbsp;a 25% increase in sales value, reflecting the&nbsp;steady adoption of online grocery shopping.</p>

<p>In the&nbsp;B2B sector, the market remained&nbsp;relatively stable, with a&nbsp;5.91% increase in order value&nbsp;and&nbsp;gradual adoption of digital solutions.</p>

<p>Across sectors, the&nbsp;eCommerce market showed uneven dynamics, with some industries experiencing&nbsp;significant growth&nbsp;while others stagnated or contracted. This highlights the need for&nbsp;tailored strategies&nbsp;for each market segment.&nbsp;Automation and AI&nbsp;will continue to redefine eCommerce, optimizing operations and minimizing errors.</p>

<p>“eCommerce merchants will need to adopt&nbsp;flexible strategies focused on personalization, emerging technologies, omnichannel expansion, and cross-border growth in regional markets. In&nbsp;2025, success will belong to those who&nbsp;stay agile, continuously innovate, and create personalized customer experiences. Meanwhile, adaptability will become a&nbsp;sine qua non-condition in a constantly evolving market. Investment in technology and process optimization will be critical factors for sustainable growth," emphasizes&nbsp;Arthur Rădulescu, CEO of MerchantPro.</p>

<h3>About MerchantPro</h3>

<p>MerchantPro&nbsp;is a project by&nbsp;ShopMania Net, catering to eCommerce entrepreneurs in&nbsp;Romania and Europe&nbsp;through&nbsp;competitive eCommerce functionalities, professional support services, and customized solutions tailored to specific development needs.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;MerchantPro platform is used regionally, boasting&nbsp;over 20 years of experience in the market. In the last three years,&nbsp;MerchantPro has strengthened its presence both locally and internationally, with&nbsp;over 2,000 active stores in Romania&nbsp;and&nbsp;a continuously growing number in Western and Southeastern Europe.</p>

<p><em>*This is a Press release.</em></p>