Serbia flag Serbia: Buying and Selling

E-commerce in Serbia

E-commerce

Internet access
As of December 2017, Serbia had a population of 8.76 million people, out of which 6.33 million were internet users, making the penetration rate stand at 72.2%. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 72.5% of households in the country had broadband internet connection in 2018. Additionally, the report indicated that 47.6% of households had a laptop, while 72.1% had a computer and 93% had a mobile phone. According to Statista, the estimated smartphone penetration rate in Serbia was 45.51% in 2017, a rate that is expected to reach 53.84% by 2022. Even though broadband accessibility is high in the country, it remains lower than most of its neighbours. Therefore, the Ministery of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications has recently signed a plan to ensure that every citizen has the access to 30 mbps internet speed by 2020, as well as the construction of an adequate infrastructure base in rural, distant areas. As of July 2018 the most popular browser in the country by market share was Chrome (72.83%), followed by Firefox (9.92%), Safari (4.62%), Opera (3.85%), Internet Explorer (2.62%), and Samsung Internet (2.34%). As for search engines, the most popular by far was Google (97.16%), followed by Yahoo (1.59%) and Bing (1.59%).
E-commerce market
E-commerce revenue in Serbia amounted to US$ 319 million in 2018 and is expected to reach US$ 480 million by 2022, at an estimated annual growth rate of 10.8% (Statista). According to Euromonitor International, pay-on-delivery is still a common practice, although online payments are increasingly adopted as a business practice. When it comes to online payment methods, prepaid cards are the preferred method, accounting for 76% of transactions in 2017. As for preferred devices, the majority of online shoppers in Serbia buy via desktop (89%), while only 4% of them use their smartphone to shop, and 1% prefer their tablets. A report by Euromonitor International indicated that many Serbian consumers are unaware or distrustful of mobile internet retailing, which is confirmed by the low rate of people who use their smartphones to make purchases. Electronics & media is currently the most popular product category in Serbia, accounting for US$ 147.9 million in sales, followed by fashion, which generates US$ 61.1 million. The most popular online stores in Serbia are international e-commerce players such as Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba, although domestic e-stores such as CT Retail (owner of ComTrade), Win Win, and Tehnomanija also sell consumer electronics and appliances. Improving Internet speed and growing consumer confidence offer a positive outlook for internet retailing in Serbia. According to a 2017 report by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 49.9% of Internet users have never bought goods or services over the internet.

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Latest Update: March 2024

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