E-commerce in Croatia: e-shoppers prefer free delivery and increasingly delivery to alternative locations

Zagreb | August 2024. |  Geopost has published the results of its renowned E-shopper barometer survey for the year 2023. It is one of the largest surveys of this type, which was conducted in 22 European countries, covering over 24,000 respondents. The data was collected online in the period from May 31 to July 19, 2023, through an anonymous surveys, where respondents did not know who was conducting the research. The sample consisted of European e-shoppers over the age of 18, who ordered physical products through online stores and received at least one parcel since January 2023.

What drives European e-shoppers 2023: e-shoppers are increasingly leading towards basic expectations – seamless shopping, fast and reliable delivery, parcel tracking, flexibility in deciding when and where to deliver, and easy and free product returns. These consumer preferences require constant monitoring of market trends and adaptation of operations. In the conditions of a challenging economic situation, online shopping is increasingly perceived as a way of saving, and e-shoppers remain extremely price sensitive. Key incentives for e-shopping are free shipping and returns, while transparency of shipping information is becoming increasingly important for a positive shopping experience. In general, the dynamics in 2023 indicate the stabilization of business trends observed in recent years, with the total number of e-customers falling slightly, and the share of regular e-customers remaining stable.

E-commerce in Croatia

Croatian e-shoppers: In Croatia, the share of e-shoppers has been increasing in recent years, with 76% of the population buying online, which is in line with the European average. In the total population, regular e-buyers stand out, who buy online at least one product category every month, and they make up 44% of all e-buyers. As for the typical profile of the Croatian e-customer, this year's research sought a profile based on three different categories: C2C customers, customers who choose OOH delivery (Pickup locations and parcel lockers) and price-sensitive customers. Women dominate all categories, especially those in the price sensitive category, where they make up 72% of the population. The highest percentage is married women, lower paying power who live in urban areas and are on average between 38 and 40 years old.

Online shopping reduces stress and saves time and money: Croats appreciate online shopping because of the reduced stress compared to physical shopping, while more than ¾ of customers emphasize saving time as the main reason for online shopping. Regular e-shoppers in Croatia also remain price sensitive, with three out of five of them believing that online shopping saves money. Periods of deep discounts, such as Black Friday and seasonal sales, are extremely popular, even more so than in the rest of Europe. Although they are price sensitive, an increasing number of Croatian e-shoppers engage in impulsive purchases, which is an increase of 7 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Growth of C2C platforms: Given the greater price sensitivity, the increase in popularity of C2C platforms is significant among regular e-buyers, two-thirds of whom use these platforms not only to buy, but also to sell their things, thus combing space clearing and additional earnings. C2C platforms make an average of 11 purchases per year, which is almost at the level of the European average of 12.1. Also, these platforms contribute to environmentally responsible behaviour. Shopping via social networks is still popular among Croatian e-shoppers, significantly above the European average, and social networks are most often used for gathering information and inspiration for purchases.

Popular product categories: Products from the categories of beauty and health, fashion accessories and jewellery, and fresh food and beverages recorded the greatest increase. The most popular product categories, in line with European trends, are fashion (60%), beauty and health (57%) and footwear (51%). In international shopping, Croats most often order from China, Germany and the United Kingdom, where the main reasons for buying from abroad are the unavailability of certain products, brands or websites on the local market, as well as better offers and discounts.

Critical factors for e-shoppers: The main drivers of online shopping in Croatia are related to shipping costs – free shipping and returns are key to purchasing decisions. Also, the possibility of cash on delivery, quick purchase without the need to create a user account and the lack of hidden fees significantly facilitate the purchase process. On the other hand, the payment of additional fees for the delivery and return of the product repels Croatian e-customers the most.

Growing trends in delivery: Croatian regular e-customers prefer delivery to their doorstep (83%), although this percentage is down by 7 percentage points compared to the previous year. The biggest increase was recorded by delivery to parcel lockers, which increased by an incredible 20% from 2021, and delivery to alternative locations. Today, 34% of deliveries go to out-of-home locations, such as parcel lockers and pickup locations, while 48% of regular e-shoppers use more than one delivery option.

The perception of online shopping and delivery experience at the European level has stabilized after the decline in 2021 and 2022. However, for e-customers to be satisfied with the online shopping experience, they need to be provided with transparency in the product description, product availability, timely delivery, and flexibility in deciding on the place of delivery and picking up the parcel. In this context, knowing the delivery company remains key, and regular e-shoppers will prefer to choose a company they know and trust.

More information on the segmentation and their habits is available on our website Geopost E-shopper Barometer 2023. On the same page you can find an online tool for comparing e-shoppers, which allows easy filtering of the markets and categories covered by the research.