Serbia has witnessed a significant rise in online shopping in recent years, leading to a record-breaking 82.4 million purchases made in 2024. This translates to an average of over 225,000 purchases daily, according to data from the National Bank of Serbia (NBS).
“In 2024, domestic currency purchases saw an increase of 39.6% compared to 2023, with their value rising by 41.9%. In absolute terms, there were 56.5 million such transactions, worth 162.3 billion dinars,” the central bank reported. In comparison to the previous year, this represents a growth of 39.2% from 2023, when 59.2 million online purchases were made. This growth is even more substantial when compared to five years ago, with a 288.5% increase (3.9 times). In 2020, 21.2 million online purchases were made.
Of the total number of online purchases in 2024, more than two-thirds (68.5%) were made in the domestic currency. Other currencies, including the euro (20.0%), US dollar (9.6%), British pound (0.3%) and Swiss franc (0.1%), also accounted for a significant portion of purchases, with 1.6% being made in other currencies.
Growth in domestic online stores
The data from NBS also shows a rise in the number of local online stores, reaching 4,726 by the end of 2024, marking a 17.9% increase from the end of 2023 and a 134.8% rise compared to five years ago (at the end of 2020). This growth in the number of online stores has been a key driver of the increase in e-commerce transactions in Serbia.
For international online stores, the number of purchases made in euros rose by 56.6% (16.5 million purchases, compared to 10.5 million), and their value increased by 40.5% (735.2 million euros, compared to 523.2 million euros). Purchases made in US dollars saw a smaller increase of 10.4% (7.9 million payments compared to 7.2 million), with their value rising by 24.4% (217.4 million dollars, compared to 174.7 million dollars) compared to 2023.
It’s important to note that the data collected by payment service providers and provided to the NBS does not include cash-on-delivery purchases.
Factors contributing to growth: Education and global e-commerce platforms
The growth in online shopping in Serbia is not accidental, according to Ivan Tanasković, Executive Director of the E-commerce Association of Serbia.
“Historically, since 2013, when the NBS began tracking this data, the number of online card transactions in Serbia has consistently grown by 20 to 40 percent annually. The ongoing efforts to educate the market, significant investments by traditional retail companies in digital sales channels, the rise of marketplace platforms, and the educational initiatives of the E-commerce Association of Serbia have all directly contributed to this exceptional result,” Tanasković explained.
He also emphasized the importance of national initiatives such as “Bolji način” and the entry of global e-commerce platform Temu, which further boosted the development and consumer trust in online shopping and online card payments.
The fact that 68.5% of online purchases were made in domestic currency highlights the strong preference of local consumers for local merchants and the domestic market, Tanasković noted. “This trend has been present since 2020, when payments in dinars first surpassed transactions in all other currencies combined,” he added.
According to data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (RZS), the most commonly purchased items online in Serbia include clothing and footwear (69.8% of online buyers), sports equipment (28.5%), furniture and household goods (18.3%), restaurant food deliveries (18.3%), and cosmetics and beauty products (14%).
The challenge of counting online stores: Statistical errors or the grey market?
When it comes to the number of online stores in Serbia, Tanasković highlights that this issue poses a significant challenge due to a lack of accurate data.
“According to the Business Registers Agency, 2,590 companies are registered with the primary activity code of 4791 – online retail. However, the NBS reports that there are 4,726 online stores accepting card payments. PwC estimated that there are around 8,000 online stores in Serbia during last year’s Xperience conference,” he pointed out.
This discrepancy has led the E-commerce Association of Serbia to launch a project called “Market Research of Online Retail in the Republic of Serbia” to obtain more precise and relevant data about the state of the market, in collaboration with the industry and regulators.
“The grey market remains an additional challenge as it creates unfair competition – illegal merchants often operate without clear obligations, which makes it difficult for legitimate online stores to compete. This is why it is essential to continue education efforts and actively work on the regulatory framework to help reduce the grey economy,” Tanasković concluded.
Reasons for cart abandonment: Search for better prices and negative reviews
Regarding consumer complaints, Tanasković pointed out the results of the “2023/2024 Market Research of Online Retail in the Republic of Serbia,” which shows that the most common reason for abandoning a purchase is the search for a better price – 82% of respondents cited this as the reason. Negative reviews of online stores also contributed, with 77% mentioning this factor.
Other reasons for abandoning purchases included insufficient or hidden delivery and return information (48.1%) and complicated websites where products were hard to find (44.6%). Key factors influencing the decision to purchase online include product price (72%), a wide selection (66.9%), free delivery (63.8%), an easy purchasing process (46.8%), and the ability to choose the delivery method (47.1%).
“These findings clearly indicate that the biggest challenges lie in providing clear information, transparent pricing, delivery details, and an overall user experience that must be simple and fast,” concluded Ivan Tanasković.
