Value of the Romanian e-commerce market reaches 5.6 billion euros in 2020 (fintech)

Romania became, last year, the leader of the European Union in terms of the growth rate of electronic commerce, and the value of this market reached 5.6 billion euros, according to data published on Monday by representatives of a European fintech. The report drawn up by ZEN.com shows that, although most Romanians prefer to order from domestic e-shops, many are attracted by cross-border platforms, due to low prices and good offers. "Currently, Romanians who buy goods from outside the EU with a declared value of up to 10 euros online do not pay VAT for the purchase. For goods with a declared value between 10 and 150 euros, buyers do not pay customs duties, but pay VAT. The current cross-border online commerce regulation would have led to a significant loss in revenues and a severe impact on the budgets of the EU and its Member States, by giving non-EU traders an unfair competitive advantage," the company notes. In 2020, Romania became the EU leader in terms of e-commerce growth rate, even though only 45% of Romanian Internet users bought online. The e-commerce market reached a value of 5.6 billion euros and marked an annual growth of 30%. "However, although most Romanians prefer to order from domestic e-shops, many are attracted to cross-border platforms due to low prices and good offers," the statement said. According to the cited source, starting with July 1, 2021, the new VAT regulations that apply to online purchases outside the EU will enter into force. The new regulations will make online shopping in China more expensive and therefore less profitable, due to the fact that VAT will also apply to cross-border online shopping with a declared value of up to 10 euros. A study conducted by iSense Solutions for GPeC shows that a third of Romanians prefer to buy online from stores in China (27%), EU Member States (23%) and the USA (4%). Moreover, AliExpress ranks second in the top of foreign platforms preferred by Romanians, even ahead of Amazon.AGERPRES(RO - author: Daniel Badea, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Maria Voican)