Moldova is a South European country that borders Ukraine and Romania. In 2019 its GDP was $11.96 billion. In this article, you will find some information about Moldovan ecommerce. If you are interested, keep reading. We will start with the ecommerce overview.
Moldovan ecommerce overview
Ecommerce in Moldova is still quite new; therefore, there is a data shortage. Revenue in this market is projected to hit US$148m by the end of 2021. Thanks to the annual growth rate at the level of 12.4%, in four years, the market volume may reach US$237m.
There are 1.4 million users of ecommerce, which means user penetration is 34.2%, and by 2025 it may hit 38.9%. The most significant segment is Fashion – its market volume is expected to hit US$47m by the end of this year.
Consumer behavior in Moldova
About 37% of Moldovans do shopping or pay bills online. It is estimated that ecommerce will develop dynamically over the years. However, mcommerce has the potential to be a good complement to it. Ecommerce has room for maneuver, especially in the B2B market.
Currently, the most popular ecommerce sites are those from China and the United States. Moldovans like to shop on sites such as AliExpress, Amazon, or ASOS. There are also some domestic sites, but there is one issue with them. A fairly small part accepts online payments, which is why most orders have to be paid on delivery or via traditional bank transfer. Price comparison websites and food delivery have also appeared.
As you can see, this market is constantly developing, and there is a lot of potential for new entrants.
Payment methods in Moldova
source: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-moldova
Only 32% of women and 43% of men make online transactions. About 16% and 19% of women and men have a credit card. Mobile transactions are not the domain of Moldovans. Both Google Pay and Apple are not available in the country. Slowly, the popularity of PayPal begins to rise.
Moldovan social media
There are about 1.4 million users across the Moldovian Internet. 97% of them actively use social media from mobiles, 35% of Moldovan society is present in social media.
source: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-moldova
In the case of advertisement reach, Facebook wins. You can get to 1.1 million people via ads on this platform. About 96% access Facebook from mobiles, so be ready for mobile-friendly content. The second place here belongs to Instagram with650 thousand ads reach. It is following by LinkedIn – 240 thousand. The last one is Twitter, with only 22.4 thousand ads reach.
source: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-moldova
Logistics in Moldova
The road network is not in the best condition. There is a lack of investment in this sector. Nevertheless, about 30% of the goods are transported in this way. Moldova is a significant connection with Russia; an important European road route runs through it, ending in Moscow. Despite the fact that the railways are not of the highest quality, this method remains the main one in the case of freight transport. Moldova has access to the sea and also uses inland waterways. The ports of Giurgelesti, Bender, Rybnitsa, and Varnitsa are the most important in maritime transport.
To sum up
Moldova is a great place to start your ecommerce. There is no fierce competition, and people are open to the new. If you are looking for information about Moldova’s neighbors, too, here you go. Two articles are waiting for you – about Ukraine and Romania.
