SOME 1.3 MILLION BULGARIANS SHOPPED ONLINE IN 2016

Nearly 30% of Internet users in Bulgaria shopped online last year according to data from Eurostat analysis of e-commerce in the EU countries in 2016.

Generally people who regularly use the Internet at home are 63% of the population, or about 4.5 million people. Thus, Eurostat data shows that nearly 1.3 million Bulgarians shopped online last year.

Most preferred for the Internet trading in the country were clothes and sports goods - over 77% of the online orders. In second place were goods for the home - 24%, third - reservations for tourism or trips - 23% and in fourth place - food, beverages or goods for everyday use - 22%.

The most active in e-commerce in the country were young Bulgarians in the range 16-34 years old - nearly 60% of them have shopped online. As regards people aged 65-74, that percentage drops dramatically - only 1.3% of them have shopped online in 2016.

Nearly 80% of the orders of online services and goods were from Bulgaria, about 40% were from EU countries and about 18% ordered online from other countries.

According to estimates by industry experts, an online customer buys goods at an average cost of about 150 euro per year, which means that last year the turnover of online trading in the country has reached 200 mln. euros.