Hungary's e-tail sector shifts into higher gear

Hungary’s online retail trade closed an excellent year in 2016. According to a report by eNET Internet Research and Consulting Ltd., Hungarian webshops generated HUF 427 billion (about EUR 1.39 billion) in turnover, more than 5% of the total national retail trade volume. The dynamic expansion of the online sector is not surprising as both the number of customers and order values keep increasing, The research results, based on responses from webshop operators, were announced at the 14th Hungarian E-commerce Conference in Visegrád.

E-tailers did not rest on their laurels last year. Online retail trade in Hungary continued to grow, further increasing its share within total domestic retail trade. The most popular product categories were information technology and entertainment electronics, clothes, toys/gifts, and household machinery / white goods. The online trade volume in this last category ousted home equipment from the top 5. It’s not only the size of the market that grew but also cart values. Online shoppers spent HUF 13,000 (some EUR 42) for an average online purchase, HUF 1,700 (appr. EUR 5.5) higher than in 2015.

The availability of delivery methods did not change: delivery by courier services remained the most widely offered, followed by personal collection at staffed stores operated by partners, and the seller’s site / office. Cash payment upon delivery dominates, but bank card payment upon delivery could be the future.

In line with the previous years’ trends, Hungarian webshops primarily offer cash payment upon delivery, bank transfer, or cash payment in a shop, at a site, or in an office. The fastest expansion, by 25 basis points, was exhibited by bank card payment upon delivery. Logistics suppliers are upgrading and expanding their services, so more and more couriers wield a POS terminal.

More and more Internet users over 18 years of age have taken up online shopping in recent years; the e-tail boom indicates that that Hungarians have grown accustomed to this buying method. The number of online shoppers has grown by 600,000, from just above four million in 2015. Thus as many as 84% of adult Internet users now buy goods online at least once a year.

And it’s not only the number of domestic webshops’ customers that has risen in recent years. More and more people order goods from foreign online stores, too; their number went up from 1.5 million in 2015 to 2.2 million this year.