Hungarian E-Commerce Growth Now Driven by Imports

Based on PwC's Q1-Q3 surveys and preliminary data for Q4, the total Hungarian e-commerce market could reach HUF 1920 billion in 2024, with a 15% increase in turnover, of which 17% - around HUF 330 billion - is already generated by import trade. Imports have also clearly become a growth driver in 2024, as domestic online retail sales have only managed to grow 10%. A quarter of online orders reach shoppers via parcel machines, with Temu becoming the e-tailer with the largest customer base and order numbers in 2024, according to the latest edition of PwC's Digital Retail Scoreboard report, produced in partnership with the Digital Commerce Association.

The Hungarian e-commerce market in 2024 is undergoing a transformation unprecedented in the sector's nearly 25-year history in Hungary. E-commerce development is no longer driven by domestic and EU traders, but by cross-border and import trade. Therefore, when we talk about the "Hungarian e-commerce market", it is important to add what we mean by "market".

"Only a few years ago, the Hungarian e-commerce market consisted almost exclusively of EU merchants (with a Hungarian website and often a local team) operating in Hungary or considering Hungary as a strategic market. In addition to domestic e-commerce merchants, international merchants were for a long time only a relevant source of supply for a small, well-typable layer of buyers. But now, foreign shopping has become a competitive alternative to domestic shopping in terms of customer experience, speed and service level," said Norbert Madar, head of PwC's digital commerce team and vice president of the Digital Commerce Association, highlighting the key findings of the Digital Commerce Roundup.

The growth rate of e-commerce followed that of overall retail in 2022 and 2023, failing to accelerate meaningfully mainly due to the distraction of high inflation and underselling. This trend was reversed in 2024. With the advent of the import era, e-commerce in Hungary has become bipolar, as competition between domestic and import e-commerce defines the ecosystem. Although full data is only available for the first three quarters, PwC's measurements suggest that the total market could close 2024 with aggregate sales of around EUR 1,920 billion, growing at 15% year-on-year. Of this total pie, domestic and EU retailers account for about HUF 1,600 billion at 10% growth, with import e-commerce - dominated mainly by Temu - adding another HUF 330 billion.