Slovakia flag Slovakia: Buying and Selling

E-commerce in Slovakia

E-commerce

Internet access
In December 2017, Slovakia had a population of 5.44 million people, out of which 4.63 million were internet users, making the penetration rate 85%. According to Statista, 91% of internet users between ages 25 and 34 accessed the internet every day in 2016. Mobile penetration is relatively high, reaching 130% by the end of 2017. An estimated 66% of Slovaks own a smartphone (3.59 million people). In 2017, 81.3% of households have internet access. Slovakia's communications infrastructure is rapidly modernising. Telecom operators have promised to bring high-speed internet coverage to all of Slovakia in the next few years. According to the Ministry of Investments and Informatisation, every village and all municipalities in the country should have high-speed internet coverage by the end of 2020. As of July 2018, the most popular browser in the country by market share was Chrome (64.68%), followed by Firefox (12.17%), Safari (9.44%), Opera (4.61%), Internet Explorer (3.29%), and Edge (2.24%). As for search engines, Google (96.54%) dominates Slovakia's market, followed by Bing (1.84%) and Yahoo (0.69%).
E-commerce market
E-commerce has been a fast-growing segment  in Slovakia over the past several years. Revenue reached US$ 860 million in 2018, and is expected to reach US$ 1 billion by 2021, at an estimated annual growth rate of 8.5%. Slovak e-commerce has grown 15-20% in recent years, with an estimated 8,500 e-shops currently in business. Slovakia's low purchasing power means e-shops must draw customers away from traditional retail stores. Products most commonly bought through e-commerce include clothes, shoes, books, cosmetics, electronics, sporting goods and hobby products. E-commerce in Slovakia is generally weaker in real estate, artwork, food and beverages. The market's largest segment is electronics & media, with a market volume of US$ 324 million in 2018. There are currently 3.2 million e-commerce users in Slovakia, a number that is expected to grow to 3.6 million by 2021, which will represent 78% of the total population. According to The Slovak Spectator, Slovaks are avid online buyers, leading companies to outsource e-shops and increasingly using cloud services. Credit cards are not very popular among e-shoppers, as only 17% of purchases are made using one. On the other hand, 76% of shoppers use mobile payments when shopping online, and 33% prefer prepaid cards. As for preferred devices, 90% of online shoppers make their purchases using desktops, while 4% do it using smartphones, and 3% use their tablets. Furthermore, according to the data reported by Eshop World, the average user in Slovakia spends US$ 231 online per year, a number expected to increase to US$ 297 by 2021. Some popular e-stores include Bazos, Amazon, Ali Express, Heureka, Mall.sk, Hej.sk and Andreashop.

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Latest Update: March 2024