The latest publication from Hamburg-based desk research company yStats.com titled “Eastern Europe B2C E-Commerce Market 2022” shares insights into the B2C E-Commerce market development, latest trends, forecasts in Eastern Europe, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other findings, the publication reveals that in Poland, the top three most preferred payment forms in 2020 were Blik, Bank Transfer, and Card.
The B2C E-Commerce market in Eastern Europe accelerated after the onset of COVID-19
Countries in Eastern Europe have witnessed a continuous growth of B2C E-Commerce market, especially remarkable after the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. This is due to the imposed retail market constraints caused by the proliferation of COVID-19 restrictions, meaning the first half of 2020 was a booming period for B2C E-Commerce. For instance, the Russian B2C E-Commerce market achieved significant growth of almost 60% y-o-y from 2019 to 2020. Moreover, the domestic B2C E-Commerce market almost doubled between 2019 and 2020. In Poland, the online retail market has continued to accelerate this year compared to 2020, with the product category contributing the most to the B2C E-Commerce market growth being Home and Gardening, followed by Electronics and Media.
Clothes, Shoes & Accessories was the product category consumers in Easter European countries mostly shopped online for in 2020
Product segments that were commonly purchased when shopping online in Eastern Europe varied in each market. The leading product category in the Russian B2C E-Commerce market in 2020 was Electronics and Appliances, followed by Clothing & Footwear, Food, Furniture and Home Goods, and Beauty and Health. In Turkey, among the most commonly purchased items online in 2021 were Clothes, Shoes & Accessories, Deliveries from Restaurant, and Food and Beverages. In the Czech Republic, in 2020, the top purchased product sector online was Clothes, Shoes & Accessories, followed by Cosmetics & Beauty, and Sports Goods.
Cashless payments gained momentum in Eastern Europe after COVID-19 in 2020
With the onset of the pandemic and the shifted consumer behavior towards online, preferences in payment methods in E-Commerce also altered in 2020. The enhancement in cashless payments and a decline in cash payments were witnessed in Eastern European countries. For example, in Russia, the share of non-cash transactions in total expenditures of citizens exceeded a 50% mark in 2020. Moreover, among the top payment service providers, most popular in the country in 2020 were Sberbank, Yandex.Money and others. As for the Poles, Blik was the most popular payment channel in 2020, followed by Bank Transfer and Card. Blik was greatly used by the younger generation up through age 29 years, whereas Bank Transfer and Card were preferred by older consumers, as of 2020.
