In the past, shopping involved getting dressed, putting on shoes, perhaps grabbing an umbrella, picking up a shopping list, and leaving the house. Today, it’s a different story. We don’t even need to leave our pajamas. Comfortably lying in bed or lounging in an armchair with a coffee in hand, we can open our favorite app, choose what we want, and simply click “Add to cart”—and then pay.
This is shopping in the 21st century. But how far have we really come?
Predrag Milićević, Marketing and Communications Advisor at the Serbian National Internet Domain Registry (RNIDS), addressed the topic “Serbia in the Online Basket” and highlighted some intriguing findings from a recent study conducted by RNIDS in October 2023. The research revealed that 54 percent of entrepreneurs and about 20 percent of companies in Serbia do not have a website. This means over 200,000 businesses in Serbia are missing an online presence! Furthermore, only 30 percent of websites allow for product or service sales, and a mere 10 percent offer card payment options.
So, does this mean that Serbian customers aren’t interested in online shopping, or are Serbian e-retailers simply not utilizing all the opportunities available to them?
The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) announced that a record 82.4 million online purchases were made in 2024, an average of more than 225,000 purchases per day. This represents a 39.2 percent increase compared to 2023 and an astounding 288.5 percent increase since 2020, according to Milićević.
Clearly, Serbs are shopping online, and the trend is growing. But how much are they spending?
Of the total number of online purchases made in 2024, more than two-thirds (68.5 percent) were made in Serbian dinars. The number of purchases in dinars grew by 39.6 percent compared to 2023, with the total value increasing by 41.9 percent. In absolute terms, 56.5 million transactions were made in 2024, totaling 162.3 billion dinars. This data does not include purchases where the payment was made upon delivery, meaning the actual number is likely even higher.
So, what does the Serbian e-commerce landscape look like for those 162 billion dinars spent?
At the end of 2024, there were 4,726 domestic online stores, representing a 17.9 percent increase compared to the end of 2023, and a 134.8 percent increase compared to the end of 2020.
An analysis conducted between July and October 2024 reviewed the websites of 1,500 verified e-stores run by legal entities registered with the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR). This analysis excluded illegal stores, ensuring the data was representative of legitimate online businesses.
The results revealed that 84.5 percent of these stores deliver products only within Serbia. Consequently, it makes sense that many of these stores use the national .rs domain, which 77.47 percent of them do. Notably, 62.67 percent of these e-stores allow card payments, forming a significant part of the Serbian e-commerce market that contributed to the 162 billion dinars in card payments.
Despite the growth in Serbian e-commerce, there is still considerable room for improvement. For instance, only 30 percent of websites allow for sales, more than a third of e-stores do not offer card payments, and many mobile websites are slow.
In conclusion, while e-commerce in Serbia is developing rapidly, the industry still has a long way to go. By expanding the number of websites that enable sales, improving payment options, and enhancing mobile website performance, Serbian e-retailers have significant opportunities to capitalize on the growing trend of online shopping.
